Search

As one of the most frequently used components of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, the economic plant Fritillaria thunbergii Miq is widely grown in several provinces of China. The so-called "gray mold disease" of the plant that may lead to fatal economic loss is caused by the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea. Sensitive and rapid detection of fungal infections is highly desired as a preventive step to fight against the disease. In this study, we prepared a monoclonal antibody (McAb) against a pathogenic fungus using classic hybridoma technology. After analyzing the titer, sensitivity, specificity, type, and binding protein of the prepared McAbs, we developed a colloidal carbon competitive immunochromatographic test strip with the McAbs. Results showed that we successfully obtained two highly specific McAbs, IgG3 and IgG2a, against B. cinerea from hybridoma cell lines BcA4 and BcE4, respectively. The McAbs from BcA4 could bind a 25 kDa protein, while the antibodies from BcE4 could bind two proteins (53 and 340 kDa). The test strip prepared with antibodies against BcE4 reached a detection sensitivity of 6.25 μg/mL. The strips could be conveniently stored in a dry environment (≤ 4 °C) for > 6 months without any noticeable decrease in performance. The design was user-friendly, and all the steps required to perform the detection were sample preparation and sample loading. The results could be read directly within 15 min. The use of test strips enabled the detection of disease at a stage 4 days earlier than the traditional method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygonatum sibiricum is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb and can also be used as tea and ornamental plant. During 2016 to 2018, a disease with symptoms similar to gray mold was extensively observed on leaves of P. sibiricum in the Sichuan Province of China. The pathogen was isolated from the diseased plants and identified as Botrytis cinerea based on the morphological features and Internal transcribed spacer (ITS), DNA dependent RNA polymerase subunit II gene (RPB2), heat-shock protein 60 gene (HSP60) and ATP-dependent RNA helicase DBP7 gene (MS547) all of which showed 99.89%–99.91% identities to the reported B. cinerea strains. Pathogenicity was confirmed through inoculation experiments fulfilling Koch's postulates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of B. cinerea causing gray mold disease on P. sibiricum in China. • This research first reported the occurrence of a gray mold of Polygonatum sibiricum in China. • The pathogen fungus was isolated and identified as B. cinerea. • Pathogenicity tests confirmed Botrytis cinerea was virulent to P. sibiricum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]