Plant pathogen nanodiagnostic techniques: forthcoming changes?

Plant diseases are among the major factors limiting crop productivity. A first step towards managing a plant disease under greenhouse and field conditions is to correctly identify the pathogen. Current technologies, such as quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR), require a relatively large amount of target tissue and rely on multiple assays to accurately identify distinct plant pathogens. The common disadvantage of the traditional diagnostic methods is that they are time consuming and lack high sensitivity. Consequently, developing low-cost methods to improve the accuracy and rapidity of plant pathogens diagnosis is needed. Nanotechnology, nano particles and quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as essential tools for fast detection of a particular biological marker with extreme accuracy. Biosensor, QDs, nanostructured platforms, nanoimaging and nanopore DNA sequencing tools have the potential to raise sensitivity, specificity and speed of the pathogen detection, facilitate high-throughput analysis, and to be used for high-quality monitoring and crop protection. Furthermore, nanodiagnostic kit equipment can easily and quickly detect potential serious plant pathogens, allowing experts to help farmers in the prevention of epidemic diseases. The current review deals with the application of nanotechnology for quicker, more cost-effective and precise diagnostic procedures of plant diseases. Such an accurate technology may help to design a proper integrated disease management system which may modify crop environments to adversely affect crop pathogens.