Detection and Species Identification of Wood-Decaying Fungi by Hybridization of Immobilized Sequence-Specific Oligonucleotide Probes with PCR-Amplified Fungal Ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacers

SummaryWe developed an effective detection method for wood-decaying fungi by hybridization of immobilized Sequence-Specific Oligonucleotide Probes with florescent-labeled PCR-amplified fungal rDNA internal transcribed spacer sequences. This method takes advantage of both the sequence specificity of Southern blot hybridization and the sensitivity of the previously reported PCR-based fungal species identification methods. Bothin vitrocultured fungal strains and naturally decaying wood samples were used to demonstrate that this method is robust and practical for detection of incipient wood-decaying fungi. It can be a useful tool for microbial ecology, plant pathology, protection of wood products in service, preservation efforts for high-value furniture and wood-based art and DNA fingerprinting for tracking the source of contamination of wood decay fungi.