A rapid method for the chemical estimation of filamentous fungi in plant tissue

A sensitive colour reaction is described for estimating fungi which contain chitin. The method is based on the alkaline deacetylation of chitin to chitosan, the glucosamine residues of which are susceptible to deamination with nitrous acid. This yields an aldehyde which is determined colorimetrically with 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolone hydrazone. The observed level of aldehyde, expressed as glucosamine, was related to fungal dry weight by experiments using different fungi grown in vitro. The method, requiring 5 h to complete, has been tested on five phytopathogenic fungi and three hosts, and should be applicable to a wide range of host-pathogen systems.