With funding from the Center for Produce Safety, a researcher from the University of Arizona is exploring the usefulness of a handheld genetic sequencing device for in-field microbial characterization of irrigation water by the produce industry.
Inspired by the use of the Oxford MinION handheld genome sequencer in Africa for sequencing genetic information from lowland gorillas, Kerry Cooper, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Food Safety and Epidemiology at the University of Arizona sought to determine whether the tool could be used by the produce industry to ensure the microbial safety of crop irrigation water. Although the Oxford MinION could provide results rapidly—in a few days or less, which would greatly benefit the produce industry in moving their products while they are as fresh as possible—Dr. Cooper and his team first had to make sure that the portable device could produce results comparable to the industry gold-standard sequencing method, Illumina technology.