CRC for Plant Biosecurity - Remote microscopes

CRCNPB wins CRCA award

CRICHTONA — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:20:23 +0000

The CRCNPB has won a CRC Association award for Excellence in Innovation for its Remote Microscope Network (RMN).

The award was presented by Professor Margaret Sheil – CEO of the Australian Research Council – at the annual CRC Association Conference Awards Dinner held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 18 May.

The new RMN system, which links field officers with national and international experts, has enabled a dramatic speed-up in the identification of exotic insects and diseases which may pose a threat to crops and the environment in Australia.

The RMN is used in conjunction with the Pest and Disease Image Library (PaDIL) and the Plant Biosecurity Toolbox (PBT), which includes high quality images as well as information about the distribution. Together they enable field officers to identify pests quickly and accurately, and respond to any threats. This could save millions of dollars in eradication costs and lost market access for Australian producers.

A promotional video, which was shown at the Awards Dinner and highlights the innovative work the RMN has achieved, can be viewed here.

To learn more about digital diagnostics view the diagnostics research projects web page or contact Gary Kong.

Digital diagnostics expand global surveillance

CRICHTONA — Wed, 04 May 2011 04:56:29 +0000

Australia’s digital pest-detection network is expanding globally, to help identify and combat invasive pests threatening our agricultural industries and markets before they arrive, through the CRC for National Plant Biosecurity’s remote microscope network.

Within Australia there are already more than 30 camera-connected microscopes linked to a public, internet-based image library – part of the new digital arsenal being deployed to meet Australia’s biosecurity challenges. Connections include remote districts such as Kununurra in Western Australia, which would otherwise have limited access to the expertise required to identify new plant pests and diseases.

Late last year in central Queensland, cotton crops were ravaged by a species of mealy bug thought to be new to Australia. Almost immediately, remote microscopy was used to send real-time images of the pest via the internet to an expert in California, who was able to identify it as an exotic suspect.
Dr Gary Kong is the project leader for the CRC’s digital diagnostic project and principal plant pathologist with the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.

“Whenever a suspected incursion occurs, it is vital that a positive identification is made as quickly as possible,” Dr Kong says. “Remote microscopy has demonstrated its ability to reach experts wherever they might be and to speed up the identification process.

Early detection and confident identification mean that immediate steps can be taken to minimise the risk or impact of incursion.”

Internationally, the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is supporting efforts to expand the remote microscope network, with a particular focus on fruit fly diagnostics as part of the National Fruit Fly Strategy.

Attending a planning meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Diagnostic Network in Laos in 2009, Dr Kong was able to provide a real-time demonstration of the network to participants.

With the help of the internet and a microscope connected to a computer in Canberra, scientists at the Laos meeting, 8,000 kilometres away, were able to identify an Oriental fruit fly specimen taken from an Australian research collection. Similar to the Queensland fruit fly, the Oriental fruit fly is a high-risk pest endemic to Asia that has so far been kept from Australian shores – aside from those few specimens, long since dead, kept for scientific reference.

Five ASEAN countries – Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – in addition to East Timor, now have remote microscope capability and will form a vital link in Australia’s pre-border security, monitoring pest movements throughout south-east Asia.

The CRC’s remote microscope project support officer Michael Thompson has recently returned from Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, where he has been installing remote microscope equipment at government entomology research laboratories as well as training staff. The equipment has been supplied by the CRC, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), AusAid and through a partnership that will contribute substantially to Australia’s pre-border surveillance.

“We import produce from these countries and if we can identify outbreaks of pests or disease before it leaves these countries we can protect the relevant industries in Australia,” Mr Thompson says.

“For instance, all three countries have different fruit fly species from the ones we have. If these species should establish in Australia it would decimate our fruit industries. We need to be able to identify pests like fruit fly, help our neighbours identify fruit fly, and be able to differentiate their species from our own when they reach our shores, and this network improves our ability to do this.”

Mr Thompson says the cost of entry-level equipment required to join the network is expected to become more affordable in the near future, with a minimum of an internet connection, a computer and a Dino-Lite digital microscope, with models available for less than AU$300.

The network is also operating in New Zealand, with extensions to Canada and the United States being negotiated as part of the Quadrilateral Scientific Collaboration in plant biosecurity.

The United States is particularly interested in using the system for pre-border surveillance in the Caribbean in the same way that Australia is helping to establish a network in south-east Asia.

Researchers in Florida joined a remote microscope session, with others from the Caribbean island of Aruba, Melbourne and the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC) in Canberra, using Skype and a Dino-Lite digital microscope to share images of red palm weevil specimens, an exotic pest threat to the United States.

Dr Kong says with these cheap and simple technologies, diagnostic events such as these can be organised easily and quickly to share information and images, connecting experts with non-experts in remote and isolated regions.

“The increasing volume of international trade and people movement is placing greater pressure on quarantine systems. At the same time, the pool of expertise to diagnose new incursions is shrinking. Digital tools are helping us to do more with less and increasing access to information that improves our capacity to identify new pests and disease and respond more quickly,” he says.

Dr Kong’s team has developed system requirements and protocols for the remote microscope network and also developed the CRC’s Plant Biosecurity Toolbox, which is hosted in Museum Victoria’s Pests and Diseases Image Library (PaDIL).

PaDIL contains more than 20,000 detailed images of insects and plant diseases, available publicly through the internet. The website has proven to be a leading international resource for plant and disease identification, with users in more than 190 countries.

In conjunction with PaDIL, the CRC’s Plant Biosecurity Toolbox provides details of pests, the symptoms and damage they cause, and links to information about diagnostic tests to confirm the identity of the pest.

An upgrade of the PaDIL website launched in 2011, included a personalised ‘dashboard’ that provides an entry point for identification requests and store personal search history and identification records. All data relating to identifications is stored in a new portal known as BowerBird, which also provides a control centre for all users of the remote microscope network.

Dr Kong says that through BowerBird users are able to request a session with a relevant plant pest specialist and, using a triage process to assess the urgency of each request, sessions are booked and organised and each session is given its own unique reference code.

Dr Kong says one of the most important elements of this is be the ability to record all sessions for later reference, to provide a chain of evidence for all identifications and to also add to the body of diagnostic knowledge. Logging all remote microscope events together with diagnostic images has helped provide a dynamic picture of pest movement across Australia and even globally.

While the remote microscope network is still continuing to grow in Australia and overseas for the purpose of identifications, it is also growing in importance as a tool to deliver real-time training. With remote microscopy, experts can run training workshops from their laboratories for people in remote areas and, with interactive communication, they can demonstrate identification features of specimens and share images. Participants can keep a personal library of relevant images and a record of conversation for future reference. In this way, experts can share their knowledge with others via remote connections.

In recognition of the innovative work undertaken by the digital diagnostics project, the project has been nominated for a Cooperative Research Centres Association (CRCA) Award for Excellence in Innovation in the category of innovation arising from the application and use of research. The winners will be announced at the CRCA Awards dinner in Brisbane on Wednesday 18 May 2011. We have our fingers crossed for this very deserving project.

Remote microscopy: a success story in Australian and New Zealand plant biosecurity

CRICHTONA — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 22:02:15 +0000

Remote Microscopy: a success story in Australian and New Zealand plant biosecurity

Remote diagnostics workshop: call for registrations

VANMEURSA — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 05:01:39 +0000

A workshop on remote diagnostics is to be held in April 2011 in Darwin, Northern Territory. The workshop, Web-based ID Tools, Screening Aids and Communication for Diagnosticians, is to be presented by staff from the Cooperative Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity and Museum Victoria.

The workshop will provide presentations and demonstrations on the Pest and Disease Image Library (PaDIL) suite of products that includes:

diagnostic biosecurity and biodiversity image and information websites
remote diagnostic microscope networking
plant pest diagnostic protocols and contingency action plans, and
social communication tools for diagnosticians.

The workshop will run in association with the 4th Asian Conference for Plant Pathology and the 18th Biennial Australasian Plant Pathology Society conference which is to be held from 26–29 April 2011 in Darwin, Northern Territory.

The cost of the workshop is $30 per person. For further details about and registration for the workshop, please visit the conference website.

The workshop is sponsored by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Subcommittee on Plant Health Diagnostic Standards (SPHDS). SPHDS is responsible for sustaining and improving the quality and reliability of diagnostics for plants pests throughout Australia.

Australia extends digital pest-detection network to Asia

K.Scott — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:31:16 +0000

Media Release: 10 August 2010

Australia’s digital pest-detection network is expanding to neighbouring Asian nations to identify and combat invasive insects and diseases that threaten Australia’s agricultural industries and markets before they arrive.

A network of more than 30 camera-connected microscopes linked to a public internet-based image library is already part of the arsenal being deployed to meet Australia’s biosecurity challenges.

This includes remote districts like Kununurra in Western Australia, which would otherwise have a limited access to the expertise required to identify new plant pests and diseases.

The digital diagnostic technology and procedures developed by the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for National Plant Biosecurity have now been extended to East Timor, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam to enhance their diagnostic capability and contribute to Australia’s ‘pre-border’ surveillance.

Plant pathologist Dr Gary Kong is leading the CRC’s digital diagnostic project and says the increasing volume of international trade and people movement are placing greater pressure on our quarantine systems.

“At the same time the pool of expertise to diagnose new incursions is shrinking. Digital tools are helping us to do more with less and increasing access to information that improves our capacity to identify new pests and disease and respond more quickly.” READ MORE

Instructions for downloading images

To download and save images, right-click on the link and click ‘save target as’. If you experience any problems, please contact Communications Manager, Kate Scott begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting on 0402 299 611 or k.scott@crcplantbiosecurity.com.au

Digital tools for diagnostics

VANMEURSA — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:24:59 +0000

Remote Microscopy showcased live throughout 2009

VANMEURSA — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:55:13 +0000

Through live demonstrations and training in 2009, Remote Microscopy (RM) has grown and expanded rapidly with users based throughout Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia. By showcasing the RM technology and the new innovations in this area we are exposing the wider plant pathology and entomological communities to the benefits of RM and paving the way for further growth.

When demonstrating the potential of the Remote Microscope, the equipment required includes, a microscope connected to a high quality Nikon DS-Fi1 camera which is connected to a Nikon DS-L2 console which is then connected to the internet (or simulated internet connection).

During the demonstration we highlight the ease in which RM equipment can be used to connect experts to specimens via the internet to make identifications or train personnel. The live interaction allows for high audience involvement giving participants a chance to become comfortable with the equipment, making them more likely to continue using RM as part of their regular practice or become involved in the RM world as it expands.

The demonstrations also give us the chance to show how developments in new low cost, convenient portable RM technology such as the Dino-Lite range of USB microscope cameras could form part of the RM landscape in the future. In addition, as discussed in previous Leaflet articles it is hoped that increased use will be facilitated by a RM portal to be housed in the Pest and Disease Image Library (PaDIL). This central portal will guide users to contact experts, as well as play a role in the uploading and authoring of images to build on existing databases in the PaDIL suite of tools.

To highlight the features of RM to potential end-users, demonstrations were conducted at the following events:

June

9-10 June: Industry & Investment NSW Entomology, Plant pathology and Veterinary units, Orange, NSW

Installation, demonstration and training
Seminar on RM concepts, progress and future directions.

August

3-7 August: New Zealand, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF)

Presentation/seminar for MAF and Landcare personnel in Auckland on RM progress and future directions
Demonstration and discussion of New Zealand and Australian use of RM.

17-20 August: Image Analysis and Phenomics/Technologies for Biosecurity Workshop, Canberra

Presentation (including demonstration) on RM progress and future directions to workshop attendees
Four- day workshop included group sessions where RM ideas and innovations were shared.

31 August – 2 September: International Symposium on Thysanoptera and Tospoviruses, Brisbane

Presentation (including demonstration) on RM progress and future directions
Presentation as part of a wider PaDIL suite of tools
Poster on RM presented and supported.

September

22-24 September: CRC Science Exchange, Sunshine Coast

Presentation (including demonstration) on RM progress and future directions.

25-28 September: DARWIN 200: Evolution and Biodiversity Conference, Darwin

Presentation (including demonstration) on RM progress and future directions
Collaboration with potential RM users in Entomology community.

October

6-9 October: National Invertebrate Pest Initiative Workshop, Canberra

Presentation (including demonstration) on RM progress and future directions.

17 October -7 November: south-east Asia

RM installation, training and presentations on current progress and future directions.

For more information about the remote microscope network, contact Remote Microscope Support Officer, Michael Thompson m.thompson@crcplantbiosecurity.com.au

Photo caption: Project team member, Dean Beasley (right) and Remote Microscope Support Officer, Michael Thompson (left) give CRCNPB staff member, Carla Tadich, a demonstration of the remote microscope technology at the CRC’s Science Exchange.

Article written by: Michael Thompson, Remote Microscope Support Officer

Fruit fly experts in Vienna

VANMEURSA — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:03:53 +0000

True fruit flies are one of the world’s worst pests of fruit and fruiting vegetables, causing millions of dollars worth of damage each year.

While Australia has a number of native pest fruit flies of its own, some exotic fruit fly species present in neighbouring countries are also of great biosecurity concern. Their introduction and establishment would cause significant additional economic damage and trade disruption, as well as requiring expensive eradication campaigns.

Australia has an extensive fruit fly surveillance program with traps in more than 1,600 locations across the country. Early detection of exotic fruit flies is the best means to achieve prompt and cost-effective eradication in the event of an incursion. The trapping program also provides evidence to overseas trading partners of Australia’s freedom from particular fruit fly species. Part of surveillance, however, is the ability to accurately diagnose the flies detected, and unfortunately this is not easily done for all offshore pest species, especially those belonging to the Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) complex.

The Oriental Fruit Fly complex contains several species, including B. dorsalis, B. papayae and B. philippinensis, which are capable of causing significant damage to commercial crops in Australia. Unfortunately, robust diagnostics for these species do not currently exist. Even worse, it is not currently possible to separate these pests from endemic, non-regulated fruit flies.

Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Associate Professor Tony Clarke is leading a CRC project which will undertake a detailed biological, morphological and molecular study of the pest flies in the B. dorsalis complex, to confirm species boundaries and develop new methods for their diagnosis.

This project has received international interest from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN/FAO). In early July, project members Tony Clarke, QUT based CRC postdoctoral fellow Dr Mark Schutze and Lincoln University’s Dr Karen Armstrong, were three of only 11 people worldwide invited to participate in an international consultants meeting held at the United Nations' IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

During the meeting, global fruit fly experts discussed a proposed new international project on resolving fruit fly species complexes, with a focus on the B. dorsalis complex and the South American Anastrepha fraterculus complex. The project will develop strategies to resolve species boundaries in fruit flies and has applications for sterile insect technique programs and trade. The role of the UN/FAO’s IAEA is to help member nations facilitate trade and improve agricultural and horticultural industries through the non-military use of nuclear technologies.

Pending likely UN/FAO IAEA approval, this project will run for five to six years and involve strong collaborations between Australian and international fruit fly research groups.

Remote Microscopy has landed in south east Asia

VANMEURSA — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:54:45 +0000

Recently, Remote Microscope Project Leader, Dr Gary Kong and Remote Microscope Support Officer, Michael Thompson represented the Cooperative Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Diagnostic Network Planning Workshop in Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. This workshop was aimed at developing and prioritising ideas for establishing a diagnostic network based around a specimen, ’clearing house’ which would direct specimens to an appropriate expert in the region. Attendees included representatives from Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore with input also from Australia and New Zealand.

Gary Kong gave a presentation regarding the importance of diagnostics and how to increase diagnostic capacity. He focused on digital diagnostics including the role of Remote Microscopy as part of a digital one-stop-shop such as PaDIL which includes extensive data-basing functions. The functionality of remote microscope technology was also showcased in a live demonstration with an Oriental Fruit Fly that was physically located in Canberra but being successfully identified by an expert in Vientiane.

Many contacts were made in the ASEAN biosecurity community who showed keen interest in the Remote Microscope technology. As a result, remote microscopes will be installed in Thailand (Bangkok and Chang Rai), Vientiane in Laos, as well as Vietnam in October. The installation of this technology and training of operational personnel will result in an active SE Asian branch to complement the existing domestic remote microscope network.

Introducing remote microscopy and the diagnostic tools within PaDIL will increase diagnostic capacity in South East Asia and by extension, add to Australia’s diagnostic network and contribute to our biosecurity practices across the biosecurity continuum.

Portable Remote Microscope setup in lab.