THE VISION OF THE DIAGNOSTIC ASSAY LABORATORY NETWORK (DALN) IS TO ESTABLISH A COORDINATEDNETWORK OF PLANT DISEASE DIAGNOSTIC ASSAY DEVELOPERS. THE DALN WILL PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK FORSTANDARDIZATION; BUILD TOOLS AND GATHER RESOURCES TO SUPPORT A ROBUST SYSTEM FOR DIAGNOSTIC ASSAYDEVELOPMENT; AND VALIDATE PATHOGEN ASSAYS FOR U.S. BIOSECURITY. CURRENTLY, THERE IS NO COORDINATEDSTANDARDIZED FRAMEWORK FOR ASSAY DEVELOPMENT, VALIDATION, OR PERFORMANCE MONITORING IN THE U.S.ASSAYS USED FOR REGULATORY PURPOSES ARE VALIDATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS. HOWEVER,THERE ARE HUNDREDS, PERHAPS THOUSANDS, OF DIAGNOSTIC PLANT DISEASE ASSAYS USED EVERY DAY IN THE U.S.THAT ARE EITHER NOT VALIDATED OR VALIDATED IN AN AD HOC WAY. THE ENVISIONED DALN WILL INCLUDE:MAINTAINING A REGISTRY OF DIAGNOSTIC ASSAY DEVELOPERS; DEVELOPING INTEROPERABLE STANDARDS FORDIAGNOSTIC ASSAY VALIDATION, WITH TOOLS AND REFERENCE RESOURCES; AND SUSTAINED COMMUNICATIONS WITHPLANT DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY NETWORKS.THEPURPOSE OF THIS SEED GRANT IS TO CONDUCT THE PRELIMINARY RESEARCH NEEDED TO PREPARE FOR A LARGE NATIONAL PROJECT FOR THE CREATION OF THE DIAGNOSTIC ASSAY LABORATORY NETWORK (DALN) AND PROVIDE RESOURCES TO BRIDGE THE GAPS IN TACTICAL DIAGNOSTIC ASSAY DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION RESEARCH FOR U.S. AGRICULTURAL BIOSECURITY. THE IMPACT OF CREATING THE DALN WILL BE IMPROVED ASSAY INTEGRITY AND CONFIDENCE IN DIAGNOSTIC TEST RESULTS PROVIDING MORE RELIABLE U.S. BIOSECURITY SURVEILLANCE TO PROTECT U.S. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND REDUCE IMPEDANCES TO TRADE.