ABSTRACT
Developments in diagnostic techniques for cereal pathogens Sadia Iqbal and Michael G. K. Jones, Western Australian State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre - Murdoch University, Australia
1 Introduction
2 Prevention strategies and pre-symptom identification
3 Protein-based identification and serological methods
4 Nucleic-acid-based techniques
5 Point-of-care diagnostics
6 Next-generation sequencing for plant diagnostics
7 Non-invasive imaging techniques
8 Conclusions
9 Where to look for further information
10 References
Accurate detection and identification of cereal diseases is important because this information is vital for undertaking appropriate control measures. Diagnostic methods have advanced rapidly in many areas of biology, and this is also the case in agriculture. Methods used to identify crop diseases have progressed from examining the morphology and symptoms of a disease with a magnifying glass. Although this is often still the basis for rapid field assessment, molecular diagnostic techniques are now used routinely to screen plant materials and soils for the presence of disease-causing organisms. Some benefits of molecular diagnostics include:
• Identification of the presence of a disease-causing organism before symptoms are apparent on plants.
