Large-scale high throughput screening of sugar beet germplasm using a nanobiosensor and its comparison with ELISA method for resistance to Polymyxabetae

Identification of resistance resources of sugar beet germplasm against Polymyxa betae has always been a critical concern among sugar beet breeders. In the present study, two different methods including the DAS-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test and a nanobiosensor method based on florescent resonance transfer energy (FRET) were compared in order to achieve resistant germplasm. More specifically, 58 sugar beet germplasm as well as two negative and two positive controls were cultivated in infested soil under greenhouse conditions. The contamination level or in another words sensitivity and specificity observed based on the ELISA readings was inaccurately lower in comparison with the investigated nanobiosensor. Moreover, the nanobiosensor was 70 folds less time consuming compared to the ELISA method, for the immuno-reaction was much faster and no sample treatment steps were required. As a result, the quantum dots-FRET-based nanobiosensor investigated herein could well suit the task of everyday screening of resistance resource and could be efficiently used in breeding programs.