How can we identify the cause of an infection? - OCR 21st CenturyIdentifying diseases caused by pathogens

Scientists use diagnostic tests to find out more about an individual illness. There are a number of diagnostic tests which scientists can use in order to identify the pathogen causing a communicable disease.

Recognising symptoms

If a plant is wilting, what is causing those symptoms? They could be caused by a pathogen or by something else. Other diagnostic tests are required in order to be sure it is being caused by a pathogen, and if so by which pathogen.

Symptoms of plant diseases

Plant pathogens cause diseases with a range of different symptoms. These symptoms can be used to identify the pathogen and then treat the disease, or limit its effects. The symptoms of common plant infections are shown below.

Identifying plant diseases

Farmers and gardeners often use books and the internet to identify plant diseases. They can also take a small cutting of an infected plant (or a photograph of it) to a local garden centre, which have staff that can often help identify and treat the disease. For diseases that are more difficult to identify cuttings of the plant may be analysed by scientists in laboratories using testing kits containing monoclonal antibodies.