The North Dakota State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (NDSU-VDL) is an AAVLD accredited full service laboratory that is a member of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN). The DeNovix DS-11 and FX module are currently used in the Molecular Diagnostics section and will also be used in the new Sequencing section that is under construction.
Brianna Stenger, PhD (pictured), is the section head of Molecular Diagnostics section and the new Sequencing section, which is currently under construction. The Molecular Diagnostics section tests for around 50 different pathogens of small and large animals using traditional PCR and real-time PCR, and has been expanding to next-generation sequencing capabilities. A few pathogens include bovine respiratory viruses, Cryptosporidium parvum, Tritrichomonas foetus, Mycobacterium aviam subsp. paratuberculosis, multiple coronaviruses, Avian Influenza, West Nile Virus, ringworm, canine distemper, Toxoplasma gondii, canine parvovirus-2 and feline panleukopenia virus.
Their DeNovix DS-11 was initially used to evaluate the concentration and purity of samples that were sent out for Sanger sequencing; but with the addition of the FX module to handle fluorescence, the instrument is now multifunctional and used for quality control in sequencing protocols to keep sequencing in-house. Sequencing projects currently include full 16S, targeted ITS, WGS of bacteria, AMR detection, and SARS-CoV-2 in animal sample matrices.
