The results obtained are reported in Figure 5, where all the three probes maintained the expected level of specificity in multiplex reactions as well, enabling the simultaneous

detection of all the three target P. savastanoi pathovars, if present. The probe PsvRT-P gave always positive fluorescence signals at the expected wavelength, with almost the same Ct values in all the samples tested (Figure 5). The wavelength-specific fluorescence increase for the other two TaqMan® probes, Psn-RT-P and Psf-RT-P, was observed only when the DNA template was extracted from olive leaves also inoculated with the P. savastanoi pathovars for which these probes were previously CFTRinh-172 demonstrated to be specific (Figure 5). No differences were observed among the Cts obtained with the probe PsvRT-P and using as template the DNA extracted from the washings of leaves inoculated with strain Psv ITM317 alone or in combination with strains Psn ITM519

and Psf NCPPB1464 (Figure 5). For each probe, fluorescence always remained below the Selleckchem BEZ235 threshold values for the water controls, and for the DNA extracted from leaves inoculated with sterile water or uninoculated. Moreover the sensitivity of each TaqMan® probe was unaffected by multiplexing, as assessed comparing the Ct values of the relative standard curves with those here obtained (Figure 4), both using pure DNA from Pss ITM317, Psn ITM519 and Psf NCPPB1464 (50 ng/reaction each), and DNA from the same pathovars extracted from olive leaves washings (corresponding to about 105 CFU per reaction for each P. savastanoi pathovar). Figure 5 Sensitivity of CYT387 TaqMan ® probes in Multiplex Real-Time PCR assays. Sensitivity of the TaqMan® probes PsvRT-P, PsnRT-P and PsfRT-P was evaluated using P. savastanoi DNA extracted from olive leaves artificially inoculated with bacterial suspensions (107 CFU/leaf/strain) of Psv ITM317 (red triangle), Psn ITM519 (green triangle) and Psf NCPPB1464

(blue triangle), according to the following scheme. (A) Psv ITM317; (B) Psv ITM317 + Psn ITM519; (C) Psv ITM317 + Psn ITM519 + Psf NCPPB1464. Amplification Thiamet G curves obtained with DNA from Psv ITM317 (red diamond), Psn ITM519 (green diamond) and Psf NCPPB1464 (blue diamond) (50 ng/reaction each) and from water and uninoculated leaves (-) were also shown for comparison. (See online for a colour version). Discussion PCR-based methods are being increasingly used for detecting phytopathogenic bacteria, as recently reviewed by Palacio-Bielsa et al. [50]. Traditional methods are mainly based on the isolation of bacterial plant pathogens on semi-selective media, followed by morphological identification. Such methods are time consuming, usually require deep taxonomic expertise and are not able to give accurate results for pathogen quantification.