b'PERIASAMY (RAVI)CHITRAMPALAM Are You Podcasting Yet? RESEARCH PLANT PATHOLOGIST, EUROFINS BIODIAGNOSTICSPeriasamyChitrampalam@eurofinsUS.com eurofinsus.com/biodiagnostics/IT SEEMS LIKEpodcasts are all the rage these days. Its for good reason.If youre not already aware, a podcast is basically a serial radio program, only instead of being broadcast via the radio, it exists as digital audio files avail-able for download on-demand at any time.Ive been podcasting for a few years now, and I love it. Podcasting is a great way to get good content out there and promote your business, for the follow- Next Generation ing reasons.Its simple to produce. All you need is a recording device and a laptop. The recording device can be as simple as your laptops built-in mic, a handheldSequencing and digital voice recorder (the kind reporters use to record interviews) or can be a more elaborate microphone developed for podcasting purposes. Then youSeed Health Testingrecord your audiobe it you speaking, an interview, or a combination of the twoand just put it together using a simple audio editing program. Your laptop likely has one built-in already.Its cost-effective. You dont need an expensive video camera or lightingTHE SUCCESS OFphytosanitary measures equipment. Just a simple audio recording device and a relatively quiet place towithin the seed trade is dependent on seed health chator even a loud place to chat! Most modern digital recording devices aretesting methods which have greatly improved able to filter out background noise so that you and your subject can be heardover time with new technology. Molecular (PCR & clearly despite there being some commotion in the background. qPCR) and antibody-based (ELISA) methods are People love podcasts. They are convenient to download and listen to, andthe current standards for indirect assays in seed theyre usually free. Get a sponsor on board and a podcast can be a goodhealth testing. For new and emerging diseases source of revenue for you while getting your content out there in a new andthese indirect assays are of little use. These are exciting way. applications where next-generation sequencing Podcasts are flexible. You can do it as simply or as complicated as youd(NGS) can be a highly effective tool.like. It can be a straight-run interview with little to no editing, or somethingNGS is also known as high-throughput sequenc-more elaborate with narration, music and sound effects. Whatever you feel likeing where the entire microorganism population doing or have time to do. present in a sample is sequenced into millions of Anyone can do a podcast. You dont have to have a radio voice. Justreads or contigs (sequence fragments). Multiple speak clearly and youre on your way to becoming a virtual radio host. Youllpathogens of interest, not only from the same get better over time, which is half the fun as your podcast evolves andgroup but also from different kingdoms (bacteria, improves as you get more confident and gain experience. fungi and virus), can be identified from the same You can literally start podcasting today. You prob- seed lot from a single screening. This saves energy, ably already have the tools, and if you dont, a basictime and cost. recording device wont break the bank. Best of all,Unfortunately, like other molecular methods, youll see peoples ears perk up when you mentionNGS also does not reveal the biological significance you have a podcast. Youll have their attention,of the detected pathogens. Therefore, NGS should which in this age of social media and constantbe used most effectively as a pre-screening tool to distraction is worth its weight in gold. specifically identify negative seed lots. If a seed lot is positive for a target pathogen with NGS, it should be subjected to additional assays to determine the biological significance. Although NGS is successfully being used in many fields, it is not fully explored in seed health testing. This technology requires efficient bioinfor-matics tools plus expertise to assemble, analyze MARC ZIENKIEWICZand interpret millions or even billions of nucleotides EDITOR, CREATE BY ISSUES INK generated from each sample. Very few seed health testing laboratories have this capacity. Eurofins@mzienkiemzienkiewicz@issuesink.com BioDiagnostics Inc., one of the leaders in NGS,suc-issuesink.com cessfully uses this technology to better serve the seed industry.36/ SEEDWORLD.COMFEBRUARY 2020'