PCR amplification of SNP loci from crude DNA for large-scale genotyping of oomycetes

Similar to other eukaryotes, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers are abundant in many oomycete plant pathogen genomes. High resolution DNA melting analysis (HR-DMA) is a cost-effective method for SNP genotyping, but like many SNP marker technologies, is limited by the amount and quality of template DNA. We describe PCR preamplification of Phytophthora and Peronospora SNP loci from crude DNA extracted from a small amount of mycelium and/or infected plant tissue to produce sufficient template to genotype at least 10 000 SNPs. The approach is fast, inexpensive, requires minimal biological material and should be useful for many organisms in a variety of contexts.