Communications Ecosystem to Support the Assay Validation Community: A Concept

Abstract

The ability to minimize negative economic, environmental, or productivity impacts to plant systems caused by recurrent and emerging pathogens and pests depends on the early detection and accurate identification of those pests and pathogens. New pest and pathogen populations and genotypes are being detected and reported monthly in peer-reviewed journals across the globe. Accurate and timely identification of pests and pathogens is dependent on the capability and capacity of the diagnostic laboratory. Among the important attributes for a diagnostic laboratory are the technologies and methods used and the number and types of samples that the laboratory can process. Because pathogen or pest identification informs response, accurate identification is also dependent on the reliability of the assay employed and the correct interpretation of assay results. Confidence in the test results generated, and ultimately in the identification rendered, is dependent on the design and rigor of the validation process for the assay(s) used. Well-designed and -executed validation requires access to an array of resources including positive controls, reference strains to build inclusivity and exclusivity panels, reference nucleic acid sequence databases, and fully vetted standard operating procedures. A communications ecosystem to facilitate the sharing of such resources, as well as to provide access to taxon and technology expertise, will greatly accelerate the development, validation, and reliability of trusted diagnostic tests to support plant biosecurity specifically and plant health in general. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .