Utilization of BIO-PCR to detect viable <i>Diaporthe destruens</i> from sweet potato tuber in seed tuber production

Real-time PCR is highly specific and sensitive for Diaporthe destruens, which causes foot rot of sweet potato. However, PCR detects pathogens whether they are viable or not. We utilized BIO-PCR to detect viable D. destruens from sweet potato tubers. BIO-PCR increased detection sensitivity of the viable pathogen but not the nonviable. Thus, BIO-PCR could be useful to avoid false positive results, which arise from detection of nonviable pathogen.