Capacity-building on St Helena for molecular detection of plant pathogens
Key Facts
FUNDING SCHEME Darwin Plus People & Skills
VALUE £98,604
WHERE St Helena
Summary
St Helena’s endemic trees are under threat of extinction due to recently discovered invasive plant pathogens. Currently, processing of field samples, essential to assess their spread, must be outsourced, with significant cost and biosecurity implications. This project will enhance existing basic diagnostic capabilities by installing suitable qPCR equipment and providing training to local scientists. This will allow more cost-effective ‘on-island’ processing of samples. Capacity building will make use of training already provided covering the implementation of more basic technologies.
