Charles C. Kayuki from the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute in Mikocheni, Tanzania, presented at London Calling 2019 on “Portable DNA sequencing in remote East African farms.” They are using genomics to fight plant pathogens, focusing on cassava. Kayuki explained that it is an easy crop to grow and drought-resistant. It is susceptible to two important viruses. Plant diseases enable the identification and characterization of the vectors, viruses, and pests that affect the crops. With sequencing in the farms, farmers learn about the process. They extract DNA with PDQeX and sequence it on a MinION and MinIT. I didn’t know about the PDQeX for nucleic acid extraction, though it seems newer technologies have substituted this system. Kayuki explained that they extracted DNA in 30 min, prepared libraries, sequenced on the MinION, and used the MinIT for BLAST analyses. The devices are portable and “affordable and advantageous,” according to Kayuki. The information helps farmers plan crop management strategies, and researchers learn about plant pathogens.
