How do you identify plant diseases, keep pathogens from spreading and help protect the food supply? The old way was to collect field samples, send them to a lab ... and wait. The new way: An app that works with an iPod Touch or Android-based tablet (how inclusive) and can ID a plant pathogen in 10-30 minutes. The technology, called Gene-Z, was developed by Michigan State University scientists and is being developed for the market. Gene-Z is not only a gee-whiz project; it's designed to speed treatments and keep pathogens from spreading.
To use Gene-Z, you take
a swab for pathogens, transfer the sample to a microfluidic chip, and insert it
into the device. In 10-30 minutes, the app can ID the pathogen, its genotype
and its amounts.
“We’ve already
successfully proven Gene-Z’s capacity for quantifying cancer
markers,” Hashsham says. “With this application, we can speed the analysis
of pathogens in plants, water and food with the ultimate goal of improving the
safety and security of food supplies anywhere in the world.”
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| MSU researcher Syed Hashsham has invented a handheld, low-cost application that can perform genetic analysis |
That hopefully also means less pesticide use and more
sustainable farming operations. Hashsham is working with MSU Technologies to
commercialize the product. So some day, a farmer may be able to download and
use it. The project was paid for with a grant from the Michigan Economic
Development Corp. and AquaBioChip, the latter of which also is
working on quick pathogen identification in air and water.
Besides Hashsham, others
involved in the development included James Tiedje, MSU distinguished professor
of microbiology and molecular genetics, a team of graduate students led by
Robert Stedtfeld (now an MSU postdoctoral researcher), and a wolverine: Erdogan
Gulari, professor of chemical engineering at the University of Michigan.
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