Specific PCR Primers for the Identification of Endomycorrhizal Fungi

The sensitivity of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (1 ,2 ), coupled to the specificity afforded by taxon-specific primers allows the analysis of a variety of samples, like minute amounts of cultured organisms (3 , 4 ), or even endosymbionts like the endomycorrhizal fungi present in the roots of field collected plants (5 –8 ).