International Plant Protection Convention’s Technical Panel on Diagnostic Protocols

Dr Mallik Malipatil travelled to Washington DC to attend the International Plant Protection Convention’s Technical Panel on Diagnostic Protocols annual meeting at Smithsonian Institution on 25 – 30 July 2010. This activity related to CRCNPB objective preparedness for and prevention of establishment of nationally significant target organisms.

The main agenda items discussed at this meeting included:

• criteria for prioritisation of protocols
• an update on the development of diagnostic protocols – general overview and reports on individual diagnostic protocols by discipline leads
• scrutiny of draft diagnostic protocols Anastrepha spp., Ditylenchus destructor and D. dipsaci, Tephritidae – identification of immature stages of fruit flies of economic importance by molecular techniques, Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. Citri, Xanthomonas fragariae, Erwinia amylovora, Tilletia indica, Guignardia citricarpa, Phytophthora ramorum and Sorghum halepense
• quality assurance issues related to diagnostic protocols - combination of methods, use of the terms sensitivity / specificity /reliability, validation of methods, ring testing, reference laboratories
• general discussion on bar-coding, its relevance for diagnostic protocols and the possible ways to address this technique in diagnostic protocols 
• priorities for new protocols, and
• a work plan for 2010 – 11.

Dr Malipatil is a member of Technical Panel on Diagnostic Protocols and was selected to chair this annual meeting. Dr Malipatil covered quality assurance issues with particular reference to entomology and acarology. He actively participated and contributed to discussions on several agenda items that were relevant to his expertise, as well as to some general issues listed above.

Dr Malipatil has lead responsibility for diagnostic protocols that are currently under preparation on Bactrocera dorsalis and Tephritidae larval molecular diagnostics, also the ones in early stages of planning on Ips spp and Dendroctonus ponderosae. Each of these diagnostic protocols is being prepared by a team of three or four international specialist editors / authors appointed by the IPPC Technical Panel on Diagnostic Protocols. Dr Malipatil, due to his considerable expertise, was selected as lead author of the protocol for Liriomyza leafminers with an international editorial team.

On the afternoon of 28 July, he attended a presentation on Bar Code of Life in relation to diagnostic protocols by Dr David Schindel,COBOL, and joined in a tour of the molecular laboratories of the Smithsonian Institution just outside Washington DC.

This trip has provided Dr Malipatil’s with international exposure as well as opportunities for the development of interactions and collaborations with international experts in areas including quality assurance relating to diagnostic protocols of entomological pests in particular. Dr Malipatil’s technical specialist role and participation in this international panel and meeting has provided him an insight into the processes and issues associated with the diagnostic protocols of exotic pests at an international level. This will be utilised for improving Australia’s preparedness for exotic incursions and ensure that protocols developed in Australia meet international standards.

The expected outcomes for the Australian Plant Biosecurity system are via the development of an improved overall capability in producing diagnostic protocols for regulated pests. All of the above mentioned pests are exotic significant target organisms in Australia. The various quality assurance  issues related to diagnostic protocols discussed at this meeting are of considerable relevance and interest to plant health diagnostic activities in Australia, including those of Subcommittee on Plant Health Diagnostic Standards (SPHDS). 

Photo caption: Technical Panel on Diagnostic Protocols outside National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC

Back row (L to R): Gerard Cleaver (Virology), Johannes de Gruyter (Mycology), Jens-Georg Unger (Steward), Brent Larson (IPPC Secretariat), David Schindel (CBOL)
Front row (L to R): Liping Yin (Botany), Geraldine Anthoine (Nematology), Julie Aliaga (USDA Representative), Fabienne Grousset (IPPC Secretariat), Mali Malipatil ( Entomology/QA), Delano James (CFIA, Canada).