FA1407 - Application of next generation sequencing for the study and diagnosis of plant viral diseases in agriculture

The objective of the Action is to coordinate and raise the European capacity to apply Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies for the study and diagnosis of viral diseases in vegetatively propagated plants, seeds and seedlings. The Action is highly timely and needed because viral diseases are currently a major economic problem in agriculture throughout the world. The increasing importance of vegetative propagation in plant production and the intensified global plant trade are further increasing the risk of viral diseases in Europe. NGS enables rapid and reliable holistic virus identification (indexing), which is needed for the development of innovative, knowledge-based solutions for plant production. By bringing together a multidisciplinary and multi-actor consortium, the proposed action will ensure cost-effective research and build up a strong Pan-European knowledge-base network for better control of established, emerging and exotic viral plant diseases. The action will deliver new scientific knowledge about viral plant diseases that are currently poorly understood, and contribute to the development of more effective surveillance of stock material health and to the improvement of quarantine procedures. The action thus implements the EU strategy of integrated pest management and protection against harmful plant pathogens and contributes to the securement of food production.