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A quantitative assay for Amaranthus palmeri identification
Brent P Murphy1, Diane E Plewa2, Elizabeth Phillippi2
1Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.
Background:
Amaranthus palmeri recently has been brought into the Midwestern USA as a contaminant in Conservation Reserve Program seeding mixes. Rapid species screening is required to mitigate the risk of continued species movement.
Results:
Markers were developed for A. palmeri-specific nucleotide polymorphisms in the internal transcribed spacer of the ribosomal coding region. A quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay successfully identified A. palmeri from single-plant samples, simulated mixed-plant samples and seed mixtures.
Conclusion:
A qPCR assay for distinguishing A. palmeri from 12 other Amaranthus spp. was developed and validated. The assay can consistently detect a single A. palmeri seed when present in a pool of 100 total Amaranthus spp. seeds. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
