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Friday / March 29. 2024
HomeAgrotechR&DRaman Spectroscopy-based method to enable early detection and quantification of pathogens in plants

Raman Spectroscopy-based method to enable early detection and quantification of pathogens in plants

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The new method is non-invasive and can be implemented in a portable Raman system to be used on crops in commercial agricultural farms

Researchers from the Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) of Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore and their local collaborators from Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL), have developed a rapid Raman spectroscopy-based method for the detection and quantification of early bacterial infection in crops. The Raman spectral biomarkers and diagnostic algorithm enable the non-invasive and early diagnosis of bacterial infections in crop plants, which can be critical for the progress of plant disease management and agricultural productivity. 

The breakthrough by SMART and TLL researchers offers a faster and more accurate method to detect bacterial infection in crop plants at an earlier stage, as compared to existing techniques. The team explained their research in a paper titled “Rapid detection and quantification of plant innate immunity response using Raman spectroscopy” published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science.

A portable Raman system can be used in agricultural farms and provides farmers with an accurate and simple yes or no response when used to test for the presence of bacterial infections in crop plants. The development of this rapid and non-invasive method will improve plant disease management and have a transformative impact on agricultural farms by efficiently reducing agricultural yield loss and increasing productivity. 

The researchers are currently working on the development of high-throughput, custom-made portable or hand-held Raman spectrometers that will allow Raman spectral analysis to be quickly and easily performed on field-grown crops.

 The development and discovery of the diagnostic algorithm and Raman spectral biomarkers were done by SMART and TLL. TLL also confirmed and validated the detection method through mutant plants. The research is carried out by SMART and supported by the National Research Foundation of Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme.

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