Most of the causal agents were polyphagous species that infect many other host plants both overseas and in Australia. All powdery mildews infecting native plants in Australia were phylogenetically closely related to species known overseas. The data indicate that Australia is a continent without native powdery mildews, and most, if not all, species have been introduced since the European colonization of the continent.
After the detection of the myrtle rust pathogen, Austropuccinia psidii, in New Zealand, a biosecurity response was initiated, including a widespread surveillance programme. Through an intensive public awareness initiative, the general public was highly engaged in reporting myrtle rust infections and added significant value to the surveys by reporting first detections from most of the areas that are now known to be infected. During the first year of the response, Austropuccinia psidii was found in areas that were predicted to be at high infection risk in previous modelling studies. Significant surveillance resources were deployed to different parts of the country and the response surveillance team contributed to most of the new host species finds. Twenty-four species and six hybrids of Myrtaceae have been confirmed to be naturally infected by myrtle rust in New Zealand. Eleven of these are new host records globally and three were previously recorded only as experimental hosts.
High-throughput sequencing (HTS) is a powerful tool that enables the simultaneous detection and potential identification of any organisms present in a sample. The growing interest in the application of HTS technologies for routine diagnostics in plant health laboratories is triggering the development of guidelines on how to prepare laboratories for performing HTS testing. This paper describes general and technical recommendations to guide laboratories through the complex process of
High-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies have the potential to become one of the most significant advances in molecular diagnostics. Their use by researchers to detect and characterize plant pathogens and pests has been growing steadily for more than a decade and they are now envisioned as a routine diagnostic test to be deployed by plant pest diagnostics laboratories. Nevertheless, HTS technologies and downstream bioinformatics analysis of the generated datasets represent a complex process including many steps whose reliability must be ensured. The aim of the present guidelines is to provide recommendations for researchers and diagnosticians aiming to reliably use HTS technologies to detect plant pathogens and pests. These guidelines are generic and do not depend on the sequencing technology or platform. They cover all the adoption processes of HTS technologies from test selection to test validation as well as their routine implementation. A special emphasis is given to key elements to be considered: undertaking a risk analysis, designing sample panels for validation, using proper controls, evaluating performance criteria, confirming and interpreting results. These guidelines cover any HTS test used for the detection and identification of any plant pest (viroid, virus, bacteria, phytoplasma, fungi and fungus-like protists, nematodes, arthropods, plants) from any type of matrix. Overall, their adoption by diagnosticians and researchers should greatly improve the reliability of pathogens and pest diagnostics and foster the use of HTS technologies in plant health.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.