Computomics is partner in a BLE funded project: Nanoprobe Based Screening Approach for Plant Pathogen Detection (NanoSPoD)

Computomics is Project Partner in a Collaborative Project: Nanoprobe Based Screening Approach for Plant Pathogen Detection (NanoSPoD) Funded by BLE.

Progressive climate change and increasing transport of people and goods in a globalized world lead to an increased probability of spreading quarantine pests (QPs) and regulated non-quarantine pests (RNQPs). Hence, the development of innovative, rapid and robust diagnostic methods is required, which are of major importance for plant protection and serve to identify, monitor and develop appropriate management and control strategies.
 
The NanoSPoD joint project aims to establish a nanoprobe-based magnetic separation method (NBMS) for plant pathogens, to develop new molecular biological detection methods and to use and evaluate NBMS together with new and already established diagnostic methods for the detection of QPs and RNQPs. The project is coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME.
 
The aim of the project is to universally improve the sample quality for all downstream molecular biological analysis methods by employing NBMS, so that a higher sensitivity and robustness of these methods is attained. Detection methods will be established for different user groups, which even allow the identification of previously unknown pathogens. As new and promising detection approaches, an immunomagnetic analysis technique as well as an innovative pathogen screening method based on Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) will be investigated.
 
Partners involved are:

• Fraunhofer-Institut für Molekularbiologie und Angewandte Oekologie IME

• GeneCon International GmbH

• Computomics GmbH

• Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH vertreten durch die Geschäftsführung für: IBI-3

Project duration is three years (01.06.2021 – 31.07.2024).

The project is supported by funds of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) based on a decision of the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany via the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) under the innovation support programme (2818710C19).