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DEVELOPING DIAGNOSTICS FOR
HORTICULTURAL, AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS.
New technologies are revolutionising DNA-based diagnostics – increasingly it is possible to conduct tests onsite with the results delivered in real-time.
Ampersand Technologies makes use of these technologies to deliver fast, cheap, and accurate testing to our clients.
Case Study
The long-term survival of the iconic New Zealand kauri is threatened by kauri dieback disease.
Standard testing involves an extended soil bioassay that is both expensive and time consuming. Typically, this assay is only used to confirm pathogen presence after physical symptoms of the disease have appeared.
Cheaper, faster assays that enable monitoring of the pathogen in the absence of disease are needed. We lack information about the distribution of the pathogen and this is important for managing efforts to halt the spread of the disease.
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The diagnostic assay used by Ampersand Technologies is faster, more cost effective, and less resource intensive than the standard test. Researchers have begun routine testing using this assay and the results are already being used to to inform on the ground decision-making.
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