Modern Assays for Plant Pathogenic Fungi: Identification, Detection and Quantification

This practically-oriented book provides both the theoretical background and step-by-step protocols for methods employing new technologies for the detection of plant pathogenic fungi. Methods have recently been developed which can be undertaken on a wide scale, with large numbers of samples, and which are simple to use, highly sensitive and very specific. Hybridoma and DNA technologies provide the basis of such assays and include the use of monoclonal antibodies, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA hybridization. The book is based on papers presented at a conference held in Oxford in March 1993 under the BRIDGE-COST-88 programme developed by the Commission of the European Communities. A wide range of fungi, which are pathogens of a variety of crop and ornamental plants, is covered and the book is aimed at postgraduate students and research workers in mycology and plant pathology, including those involved in routine testing of plants for quarantine or other purposes.