From field to the genome, application of third generation sequencing to direct genotyping of canola pathogens

Project Summary

Purpose

To help canola growers with management of clubroot disease, researchers propose to develop a sensitive and rapid diagnostic tool to detect the presence of pathogen and determine the pathotypes present and the relative abundance.

Progress

Target capture enrichment and re-sequencing of soil spiked with various concentration of clubroot spores was successful in recovering close to 580 predicted effector genes. Collection of soil samples and application of this approach to naturally infected samples from canola fields awaits lifting restriction for travel and lab activities imposed by COVID-19.