A Portable Nucleic Acid Sensor Based on PCR for Simple, Rapid, and Sensitive Testing of Botrytis cinerea in Ginseng

Botrytis cinerea is a ubiquitous pathogen that can infect at least 200 dicotyledonous plant species including many agriculturally and economically important crops. In Ginseng, the fungus may cause ginseng gray mold disease, causing great economic losses in the ginseng industry. Therefore, the early detection of B. cinerea in the process of ginseng production is necessary for the disease prevention and control of the pathogen's spread. In this study, a polymerase chain reaction-nucleic acid sensor (PCR-NAS) rapid detection technique was established, and it can be used for field detection of B. cinerea through antipollution design and portable integration. The present study showed that the sensitivity of PCR-NAS technology is 10 times higher than that of traditional PCR-electrophoresis, and there is no need for expensive detection equipment or professional technicians. The detection results of nucleic acid sensors can be read by the naked eye in under 3 min. Meanwhile, the technique has high specificity for the detection of B. cinerea. The testing of 50 field samples showed that the detection results of PCR-NAS were consistent with those of the real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) method. The PCR-NAS technique established in this study can be used as a novel nucleic acid field detection technique, and it has a potential application in the field detection of B. cinerea to achieve early warning of the pathogen infection.