Detection of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Archaeospora leptoticha, and related species colonizing plant roots by specific PCR primer

Archaeospora leptoticha, Archaeosporaceae, is a dimorphic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus. We designed the PCR primers, ARCH208, specific to the 18S rRNA gene of Ar. leptoticha, and NS12, a counter primer for ARCH208, based on a conserved region of the 18S rRNA gene among glomalean fungi. ARCH208 and the taxon-specific primers designed by Simon et al. (Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 59, 4211-4215, 1993) with NS12 amplified partial segments, about 110 bp, of the 18S rRNA gene from spores and mycorrhizal roots of the corresponding fungal species. By using ARCH208, we observed that some plant roots collected in the field were colonized by Ar. leptoticha. The taxon-specific PCR could be used for surveys of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal taxa in the field.