Descrizione del progetto
Ottimizzare l’affidabilità dei test diagnostici fitosanitari attraverso la validazione
I parassiti delle piante rappresentano una grave minaccia per l’agricoltura, con conseguenti perdite di produzione costose. Per proteggere le colture, è essenziale disporre di mezzi efficaci per individuare e identificare i parassiti. Nonostante l’abbondanza di test diagnostici disponibili, molti di essi vengono convalidati in laboratorio senza approfonditi studi sulle prestazioni dei test (TPS). Il progetto VALITEST, finanziato dall’UE, intende migliorare la diagnostica generando dati di validazione affidabili e armonizzando le pratiche attuali. Il programma condurrà due cicli di TPS, analizzando numerosi test di rilevamento per diversi parassiti prioritari sulla base delle combinazioni raccomandate dagli esperti e di quelle proposte dai portatori di interessi. I risultati saranno condivisi con gli organismi di standardizzazione a livello regionale e internazionale.
Obiettivo
Regulated or non-regulated pests (bacteria, virus, fungi, nematodes, arthropods or weeds) are responsible of major crops’ losses. Accurate and reliable detection and identification of pests are essential to avoid or reduce economical costs and trade disruptions and to support surveillance activities. In recent years, numerous tests based on new technologies have been developed to meet the different needs. However, most of them are validated on an intra-laboratory basis, through limited test performance studies (TPS) or ring trials, and there is a need to further harmonize practices. The project aims at producing validation data and will include two rounds of TPS. The first one will include combinations of pest/test/matrix, prioritized based on the expertise of the project's consortium. The second round will include other combinations based on the needs expressed by various stakeholders. Priorities for validation will then be better aligned to their needs and to the market. To maximize the impact of the project, calls of interest will be organized to include in the validation programme, kits of suppliers outside the consortium and allow participation to the TPS of voluntary proficient laboratories. Current harmonized procedures in Plant Health for validation and organization of TPS will be improved by including appropriate statistical approaches and by adapting the process for new promising technologies, such as Next Generation Sequencing. Liaison with regional and international standardization bodies will allow large dissemination of validation data obtained in this project especially by their inclusion in harmonized diagnostic protocols. The outcomes of the project will stimulate, optimize and strengthen the interactions between stakeholders in Plant Health for better diagnostics and lay the foundations for structuring the quality and the commercial offers for plant health diagnostics tools thanks to a dedicated association and a quality charter.
Campo scientifico
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagricultureagronomyplant protection
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdatabases
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologyvirology
- engineering and technologymedical engineeringmedical laboratory technologydiagnostic technologies
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyinvertebrate zoology
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
IA - Innovation actionCoordinatore
94700 Maisons Alfort
Francia