A species-specific real-time PCR assay for identification of three lichen-forming fungi, Lobaria pulmonaria, Lobaria immixta and Lobaria macaronesica

We present a multiplex real-time PCR assay for the simultaneous identification of three morphologically similar species of lichen-forming fungi, Lobaria pulmonaria, Lobaria immixta and Lobaria macaronesica. Based on TaqMan MGB (minor groove binding) probes targeting the fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS nrDNA) region, our assay unambiguously identifies known samples from all the three species, thus providing a powerful alternative to the more expensive DNA-sequencing techniques.