PATHOGENOMICS-BASED DEVELOPMENT OF CROP-SPECIFIC DIAGNOSTICS TOOLS FOR EMERGING AND EXPANDING FUNGAL DISEASES IN THE U.S.

Objectives. We aim to radically change how crop diseases are being diagnosed through development of genome-based multi-pathogen diagnostics technologies and empower effective management of descriptive pathogens in the Fusarium genus through development of rapid in-plant and predictive diagnostics tools. We have developed this integrated project to develop and enable use of diagnostics tools and train the next generation of diagnosticians. Specifically, we propose to:Utilize a pathogenomics approach to identify diagnostic regions for tomato pathogens in the high-profile Fusarium genus (research),Develop predictive diagnostics tools for seed, soil and water detection (research),Develop a rapid field-ready multi-pathogen RPA assay (research),Facilitate use of tools by public and private diagnosticians through regional and national training efforts (extension),Enable grower adoption through outreach efforts and provide diagnostic services which beta test tools (extension),Offer experiential diagnostics training for undergraduates and graduate students (education)