Optimisation of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis of hop wilt (Verticillium alboatrum and Verticillium dahliae)

Abstract

Hop wilt causes traheomycotic fungi Verticillium alboatrum Reinke & Berthold and Verticillium dahliae Klebahn. On hop, the disease appears in mild and lethal forms, depending on the virulence of isolates, sensitivity of cultivars and ecological factors. Identification of the disease and its pathotypes is important for suitable phytosanitary measures and disease resistance breeding. Methods in traditional detection and diagnosis are usually lengthy and laborious, which could be improved and supplemented by molecular methods. This paper presents a modification of the AFLP method suitable for analysis of Verticillium species. By means of such AFLP, we were able to distinguish the two Verticillium species and found polymorphisms between mild and lethal forms of Verticillium alboatrum from hop.