Differentiation of sapstain fungi by restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns in nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA

A useful DNA fingerprinting method for wood staining fungi is described. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSrDNA) from 55 fungal isolates of 13 sapstain species belonging to the Aureobasidium, Ceratocystis, Leptographium, and Ophiostoma genera. To find polymorphisms useful in differentiating the isolates, the amplified SSrDNAs were digested with 10 selected restriction enzymes. Genus-specific restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns were determined by RsaI, StyI, and TaqI for the four genera. This PCR-RFLP analysis of SSrDNA offers an easy and rapid tool for differentiation of the major sapstain organisms on stained wood.