The researchers at CIRAD were searching
for a way to diagnose viruses quickly and early in the infection process, so
they could avoid the time consuming and potentially dangerous process of
transferring contaminated samples to a lab. They struck on using the portable
sequencer MinION device, which in the last few years since its development has
become a common tool for biological analysis techniques like de novo
sequencing, targeted sequencing, metagenomics, and epigenetics. The CIRAD team
were able to both test and validate that the device could be used in plant
virology, making it an invaluable potential tool for diagnosing viruses in real
world outbreaks.
“Using
a diseased yam plant, it took us just a few hours to sequence the entire genome
of two single-strand RNA viruses, a macluravirus and a potyvirus,” CIRAD
researcher Denis Filloux said in a statement. This fast and accurate diagnosis technique
is a first step to providing real time detection of chronic viruses with a
mobile device which can be used even in isolated and remote areas.
A new technique will
make it possible to detect viruses in the field. In this case, a yam plot in
Guadeloupe. D. Filloux, Cirad
A key aspect of virus outbreak
management is shortening the time between taking a sample of a possibly
infected plant and diagnosing it as carrying a particular virus. With this
development, this process can be achieved in a shorter time to help public health
officials to detect potentially harmful outbreaks at an earlier stage than was
previously possible. With the new technique, the device will be able to examine
the whole genetic structure of a virus quickly: “The technology is
characterized by the production of long nucleotide sequences, which makes it
possible to sequence the entire viral genome,” Philippe Roumagnac, a virologist
with CIRAD, said in the statement.
This technology would be especially
valuable in developing countries where there is often a lack of laboratories
which can diagnose viruses and limited understanding of how to manage outbreaks
and transport contaminated samples.
Source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/mobile-virus-diagnosis/ (Accessed on January 16, 2019)
