群集檢測方法在植物病理學上之應用

Application of Group Testing Procedure in Plant Pathology

10.6649/PPB.201006_19(2).0001

蔣國司(K. S. Chiang)；賴信宏(S. H. Lai)

群集檢測 ； 估計 ； 分類 ； 均方誤差 ； 成本 ； group testing ； estimation ； classification ； mean squared error ； cost

植物病理學會刊

19卷2期（2010 / 06 / 01）

117 - 126

繁體中文

群集檢測(group testing)是將單一檢測單位結合成群集，並以群集當做檢測單位進行測試。當被檢測對象陽性機率低且檢測成本所費不貲時，這種檢測方法特別有其價值。此方法在植物病理界受到相當大的重視，主要始於Swallow在1985年發表於Phytopathology之報告，從此之後探討此方法之理論與應用相繼在植物病理界期刊出現。這些研究指出在不增加成本與勞力下，群集檢測對於取樣過程中所得資訊能提供相當大的改進，因此台灣植物病理學家熟悉群集檢測之方法實有其必要性。本文首先解釋說明群集檢測之原理及程序，進而再以台灣植物病理界三個實例來說明其應用性，最後並討論群集檢測未來發展之可能方向。

Group testing is a method of pooling a number of units together and performing a single test on the resulting group. The procedure is particularly useful when the number of positive units is expected to be low and obtaining test material is cheap, but testing itself is expensive. The method was introduced into the field of plant pathology mainly in a pioneering study by Swallow. Since then, many studies regarding group testing have been published in leading journals of plant pathology. The results of these studies indicated that group testing offers dramatic improvements in precision and accuracy of the sampling information, with no undue increases in costs or labor. Therefore, it is imperative for plant pathologists in Taiwan to become familiar with group testing. The objectives of this review article are first, to explain group testing methods and procedures. Secondly, three examples are used to illustrate the application of group testing to real plant pathology conditions in Taiwan. Finally, the further development of group testing in plant pathology is discussed.