Marina Lazareva, a 10th-grade student at the Specialized Educational Scientific Center of Novosibirsk State University (SESC NSU), together with her scientific supervisors, has developed a test system that enables rapid detection of fungi from the genus Verticillium without the need for expensive equipment. These pathogens affect over 200 plant species, including potatoes, and cause significant annual damage to agriculture. Traditional diagnostic methods take 7 to 14 days, making large-scale screening difficult. While PCR analysis is faster, it requires complex and costly machinery. The young researcher from Novosibirsk proposed an alternative — LAMP technology (loop-mediated isothermal amplification), a highly sensitive DNA copying method that works at a constant temperature. It does not require a thermal cycler and can detect the pathogen within 30–60 minutes in a standard laboratory or even in field conditions.
First, the student conducted a bioinformatic analysis of DNA sequences from ten different Verticillium species and identified a common segment. She then used specialized software to design primers — short molecules that recognize and bind only to the target pathogen’s DNA. The main challenge was nonspecific reactions, where the test triggered even in clean samples without the fungus. By optimizing conditions — adjusting temperature, increasing primer and magnesium ion concentrations, and using a “hot start” technique — high specificity was achieved. The test system now responds only to the target fungus’s DNA and has successfully passed experimental validation.
