Primers based on specific ITS sequences of rDNAs for PCR detection of two fairy ring fungi of turfgrass, Vascellum pratense and Lycoperdon pusillum

Vascellum pratense and Lycoperdon pusillum cause fairy ring disease on turfgrass in golf courses. For effective disease control, detection of the mycelia of the two fungi in the soil is important. Comparing the sequence data of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of these fungi with each other and with those from the database, we designed four pairs of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers for each fungus. The primers allowed amplification of the DNA of the objective fungi singly, but of no other DNA from field-collected mushroom-forming fungi or soil-borne turfgrass pathogenic fungi.