EPPO-Q-Bank - a tool for identification of plant quarantine pests

The increased risk of outbreaks of plant pests due to globalization and climate change requires up-to-date knowledge and quick and validated detection and identification methods. DNA barcoding is increasingly used for diagnostics in phytosanitary laboratories. This method uses short genomic sequences specific to a well-defined taxon for species identification. The aim of EPPO-Q-bank is to support species identification of quarantine plant pest based on barcodes. EPPO-Q-bank is composed of specific databases for arthropods, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, phytoplasmas, plants, viruses and viroids, which include sequences of quarantine pests and their look-alikes. The cornerstone of these databases is their curation by a team of 22 scientists with taxonomic, phytosanitary and diagnostic expertise from National Plant Protection Organizations and institutes with connections to relevant phytosanitary collections. Most strains, isolates or specimens, from which sequences included in the databases have been obtained, are available in physical collections. EPPO-Q-bank databases also provide valuable information about these specimens, strains or isolates, as well as populations, information about barcoding and sequencing methodologies and tools to perform single and multi-locus blast searches. Currently, the EPPO-Q-bank Databases include more than 2,095 species, 9,776 specimens, strains or isolates and 25,106 sequences. EPPO-Q-bank is hosted by EPPO since the 1st of May 2019.