Plant Pathology Reference Culture Collection (WAC)

Page last updated: Friday, 14 November 2014 - 8:19am

Please note: This content may be out of date and is currently under review.

The aim of the Western Australian Plant Pathology Reference Culture Collection (WAC) is to preserve plant pathogen isolates while providing pure cultures and genetic materials required for diagnostic, taxonomy, research and teaching activities.

Its mission is to acquire and disseminate knowledge of the diversity and systematics of plant pathogens for the benefit of the Western Australian and Australian communities.

The Western Australian Plant Pathology Culture Collection (WAC) is a public not-for-profit collection of plant pathogens that have been found in Western Australia or intercepted from other Australian states and territories. The collection holds more than 12 700 isolates of fungi, bacteria, viruses and herbarium specimens.

Specimen details are entered into databases that hold information related to each sample such as taxonomy details, host plant, symptoms, location and date of collection, collector and identifier names.

Specimen request

Most Western Australian plant pathogen isolates lodged into the collection are available on request to researchers and for teaching purposes. Please note that that fees may apply.

Lodging specimens

Western Australian isolates can be lodged into WAC free of charge as long as adequate collection data is provided. A specimen without essential collection data will not be lodged into the collection.

Information required for lodging a specimen

  • Locality: where the specimen was collected.
  • Date: when the specimen was collected.
  • Host: on what plant was the specimen isolated from.
  • Collector name: who collected the specimen.
  • Identifier name: who identified the specimen.
  • Symptoms: description and extent of damage.