Detection of Pseudomonas tolaasii Causing Brown Blotch Disease of Mushroom with Species-specific DNA Probe

This study was carried out to develop the molecular marker for the detection of Pseudomonas tolaasii, a causative agent of bacterial brown blotch disease of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). When several primers designed from repetitive sequences and pectin lyase genes of bacteria were used to produce DNA polymorphism from different Pseudomonas spp. isolated from edible mushrooms, PEU1 primer derived from pectin lyase gene produced polymorphic bands differentiating P. tolaasii strains from other Pseudomonas species. Two bands, 1.0kb and 0.4kb, found commonly in 6 isolates of P. tolaasii were cloned into pGEM-T vector which were designated as pPTOP1 and pPTOP2, respectively, to use as probe. The 0.4 kb insert of pPTOP2 hybridized to only 6 isolates of P. tolaasii, but did not to the other Pseudomonas species. As few as colony forming unit (cfu) of P. tolaasii could be detected by dot blot hybridization with the cloned 0.4kb DNA in pPTOP2.