Services
The UNESCO Biotechnology Center at Bethlehem University has been providing diagnostic and genotyping services for the farmers, ministry of agriculture and seed distributors since almost 15 years. Our laboratory is equipped with modern technologies and experienced researchers. Although we are almost the sole provider of such services in Palestine, our prices are very competitive when compared to Israeli providers.
Regulations
- Samples should be sent to our laboratory at Bethlehem University after a previous arrangement with Dr. Omar Darissa.
- For grapevine samples, please send young leaves including the petioles that should be collected early in the growing season.
- For citrus samples, please send 15 cm long stems (1 stem per sample).
- For the detection of Agrobacterium in soil samples, please provide us with no more than 200g of soil per sample.
- Collection and numbering of the samples are not our responsibilities.
- Results will be provided directly to the sample provider within 5-10 days depending on the number of the samples. In most of the cases, samples are provided to us through the Ministry of Agriculture. Therefore, the customers should not have any direct contact with us concerning the results.
List of pathogens
We provide the diagnostic service for the following pathogens:
Viruses: Grapevine Virus A, Grapevine Virus B, Grapevine Leafroll associated Virus 1,3, Grapevine Fanleaf virus, Citrus Tristeza Virus, Potato Leafroll Virus, Potato Virus X, Potato Virus Y, Cucumber Mosaic Virus.
Bacteria: Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Xylella fastidiosa, Erwinia herbicola, Clavibacter michiganensis, Salmonella typhi.
Fungi: Beauveria bassiana.
For other pathogens please contact Dr. Omar Darissa, the director of the UNESCO Biotechnology Center.
Genotyping:
We provide genotyping/molecular identification services for some plants, bacteria and fungi. Please consult Dr. Omar Darissa in advance about the availability of this service for your particular samples.
Customers should provide our laboratory with the suspected samples as well as the reference samples (control) in order to be able to compare their genetic profiles. Several tests are available at our laboratory for such purposes. These includes: ISSR-PCR, SSR-PCR, RAPD, ITS-RFLP/sequences, etc.
Prices
The prices depend on the type of requested test (ELISA, PCR, Dot-blot hybridization, etc) as well as on the number of the samples.
For information about the prices, please contact the Ms. Luda Mustafa at the Finance Office (ext:2425) or Dr. Omar Darissa (ext: 2224).