Dwarf bunt of wheat, caused by Tilletia controversa KüHN: , is a destructive disease on wheat as well as an important internationally quarantined disease in many countries. The primer ISSR818 generated a polymorphic pattern displaying a 867-bp DNA fragment specific for T. controversa. The marker was converted into a sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR), and specific primers (TCKSF3/TCKSR3) designed for use in PCR detection assays; they amplified a unique DNA fragment in all isolates of T. controversa but not in the related pathogens. The detection limit with the primer set (TCKSF3/TCKSR3) was 5 ng of DNA which could be obtained from 5.5 microg of teliospores in a 25-microL PCR reaction mixture.