Capillary and gel electromigration techniques and MALDI-TOF MS--suitable tools for identification of filamentous fungi.

Microbial strains are now spreading out of their original geographical areas of incidence and previously adequate morphological identification methods often must be accompanied by a phenotypic characterization for the successful microbial identification. The fungal genus Monilinia represents a suitable example. Monilinia species represent important fruit pathogens responsible for major losses in fruit production. Four closely related spp. of Monilinia: Monilinia laxa, Monilinia fructigena, Monilinia fructicola and Monilia polystroma have been yet identified. However, the classical characterization methods are not sufficient for current requirements, especially for phytosanitary purposes.