NIB demonstrated new diagnostic methods at the FAO headquarters in Rome

The meeting of the global Commission for phytosanitary measures took place in Rome from 16.-20. March. The commission is an executive body of the international Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), in which more than 180 countries from all over the world are represented by heads of the national plant protection services. The meeting took place at the Food and agriculture organisation (FAO) headquarters in Rome.

Part of the meeting was dedicated to the presentation of new methodologies for diagnostics of plant pathogens. The event was co-organized by the European Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO), which invited three labs from EU: FERA from UK, University of Padova (Italy) and National Institute of Biology (Slovenia). Department of Biotechnology and Systems biology presented newest methodologies for diagnostics of microbial plant pathogens: isothermal method LAMP and next generation sequencing (NGS). The demonstration stimulated an interesting exchange of views, which prolonged the event from expected one hour to almost two hours of a lively debate.