Location: National Germplasm Resources Laboratory
Project Number: 8042-22000-324-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Mar 20, 2022
End Date: Mar 19, 2027
Objective:
Objective 1: Identify and characterize unknown and poorly described viruses and viral diseases of select clonally propagated crops
Sub-objective 1A: Identify unknown and poorly characterized plant viruses and viral diseases using High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS) technology.
Sub-objective 1B: Validate High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS) discovery of plant viruses using biological and molecular techniques.
Objective 2: Develop sensitive, reliable, and resource-efficient methods to detect new and emerging viruses of quarantine significance.
Sub-objective 2A: Develop and/or optimize High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS) methods to detect viruses of clonally propagated plant germplasm.
Sub-objective 2B: Develop non-HTS methods to detect viruses of clonally propagated plant germplasm.
Approach:
Conduct laboratory and greenhouse research to characterize and detect viruses of clonally propagated plant germplasm. The emphasis is on crops whose germplasm is subject to federal quarantine regulations and/or are curated by the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System. Conduct biological and molecular studies to characterize poorly described virus and virus-like pathogens of quarantine significance, or diseases of unknown etiology that may be associated with such causal agents. Develop or improve and transfer plant virus detection methods, especially high-throughput sequencing and PCR protocols that detect virus-specific nucleic acids. Use sequencing-based approaches to investigate the genetic diversity of plant viruses, thereby allowing continual improvement and validation of nucleic acid detection protocols.
