Early Detection of Crop Fungal Pathogens for Disease Management using DNA and Nanotechnology Based Diagnostics

Virulent fungal plant pathogens are a serious threat to crop productivity and are considered a major limitation to food security worldwide. To meet these challenges, pathogen detection is crucial for taking appropriate measures to curb yield losses. Disease diagnosis at an early stage is one of the best strategies for crop protection. Earlier, traditional methods were used to diagnose and manage fungal diseases, which included visual scouting of the disease symptoms and spray of fungicides. The utility of immunoassays for early detection and precise identity has been appreciably stepped forward following the improvement of enzyme-connected immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and monoclonal antibodies. Nucleic acid-based diagnostic techniques have turnout to be the preferred type because of their greater speed, specificity, sensitivity, reliability, and reproducibility. The biosensor eliminates the need of sample preparation and can be used for on-site detection of fungal pathogens at latent infection stages so that preventive measures can be taken. Currently, multiple human and animal diseases have been detected with the help of biosensors. However, reports on plant pathogen detection using biosensors are still in infancy. Despite many applications of antibodies, there are also multiple drawbacks, including high cost, low physical and chemical stability, and the ethical issues associated with their use. Now, DNA based biosensors are gaining popularity because of their sensitive and precise detection of DNA target sequences. Immunological and DNA-based techniques combined with nanotechnology offer highly sensitive and selective gel-free detection methods, and the lab-on-chip (LOC) feature of biosensors makes them a very reliable tool in crop protection. 

Keywords: Biosensors, Diagnostic techniques, DNA based biosensors, Fungal Pathogen, Immunosensor, Nanotechnology.