Researcher(s)
- Sofia Dooling, Plant Science, University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Jill Pollok, Plant Science, University of Delaware
Abstract
Plants, like humans, are susceptible to diseases caused by a variety of pathogens. These pathogens continuously adapt in response to natural selection and human agricultural practices, making their preservation and research important for disease diagnosis.
The University of Delaware Plant Diagnostics Clinic provides diagnostic and analytical services to commercial growers, home gardeners, greenhouse operations, researchers, and public gardens such as Longwood Gardens and Winterthur. Lab duties include receiving samples, isolating pathogens on petri dishes, extracting DNA, running PCR and gel electrophoresis, and recording genome sequencing results.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinic had an extensive culture collection of bacterial, fungal, and oomycete isolates. However, a lack of maintenance during the pandemic resulted in the loss of most of the collection.
A previous intern, Alicia Garcia, started the rebuilding of the collection by successfully reviving and cryopreserving some bacterial and fungal isolates. However, the oomycete collection could not be recovered since these organisms are especially sensitive to cryopreservation. For this reason, a new oomycete culture collection is currently being established.
Oomycetes were isolated from infected plant tissue, followed by DNA extraction, amplification, gel electrophoresis, and molecular identification to confirm species identity. The clinic is in the process of finishing these identifications before moving forward. The expected outcomes for the near future are to create pure cultures on water agar, and transfer them into sterilized water tubes for long-term room-temperature preservation. This preservation method is expected to maintain viable cultures for approximately 3–5 years while reducing the stress associated with cryopreservation.
Maintaining a well-documented culture collection provides a valuable resource for future disease diagnosis, research, education, and long term recordkeeping. Continued expansion of the clinic’s bacterial, fungal, and oomycete collections will create opportunities for future research and strengthen the clinic’s ability to support plant health and manage diseases.