Differentiation of Phytophthora infestans sporangia from other airborne biological particles by flow cytometry

Jennifer Penelope Day, Gareth W. Griffith, Douglas B. Kell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The ability of two different flow cytometers, the Microcyte (Optoflow) and the PAS-III (Partec), to differentiate sporangia of the late-blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans from other potential airborne particles was compared. With the PAS-III, light scatter and intrinsic fluorescence parameters could be used to differentiate sporangia from conidia of Alternaria or Botrytis spp., rust urediniospores, and pollen of grasses and plantain. Differentiation between P. infestans sporangia and powdery mildew conidia was not possible by these two methods but, when combined with analytical rules evolved by genetic programming methods, could be achieved after staining with the fluorescent brightener Calcofluor white M2R. The potential application of these techniques to the prediction of late-blight epiphytotics in the field is discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)37-45
Number of pages9
JournalApplied and Environmental Microbiology
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 05 Jan 2002

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