Acquisition of two superfast equipment for molecular testing in UI VDL

Project Abstract The University of Illinois (UI) Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL) is a full service, AAVLD accredited, all species, reference veterinary diagnostic laboratory. As a member of the VET-LIRN, UI VDL is one of the labs actively involved in several VET-LIRN activities including iSeq-sequencing Listeria project as a lead lab,

providing isolates for MiSeq WGS sequencing project as a source lab, participation on antimicrobial resistance pilot project, and evaluation of automatic nucleic acid extraction methods as a lead lab. Molecular testing process usually takes couple hours or more to get the results out to clients. Therefore, ultrafast molecular equipment with

same sensitivities as commonly used molecular equipment is urgently needed and can significantly enhance testing service efficiency in Vet-LIRN network laboratories. In this proposal, we request funding to purchase a 5- minute superfast nucleic acid extractor Xtractor and a 5-minute real-time PCR machine XDive to enhance UI

VDL molecular service quality for testing animal diseases and routine case investigation and surveillance coordinated by Vet-LIRN. This funding support is crucial for maintaining our capacity in molecular testing and critical response to animal food/drug emergency or disease outbreak.