PFI-TT: Limiting agricultural loss due to powdery mildew disease

该创新-技术转化伙伴关系（PFI-TT）项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是减少白粉病造成的农业损失。葡萄酒和葡萄产业是一个价值数十亿美元的产业，受到白粉病的严重影响，白粉病降低了产量和产品质量，导致“关闭”的味道。对于葡萄，白粉病治疗占农药成本的75%，目前的治疗方法越来越不有效。每一英亩葡萄在生长季节都要经过多次处理，通常是用硫处理，同时使用系统性杀真菌剂（抑制白粉病蛋白功能的化学物质）。然而，对目前使用的杀菌剂的耐药性越来越普遍，最近的报告表明硫对健康构成威胁。我们正在使用一种称为RNAi（RNA干扰）的非转基因方法，该方法可以在环境友好的过程中限制特定白粉病化学物质的生产。 此外，将进一步探索拟议产品的市场，并在商业化专家和行业利益相关者的积极投入下制定详细的商业化计划。妇女和少数民族创业培训是该项目的一个重要组成部分，该项目由妇女领导，将包括妇女和少数民族农业创新大学生实习生，拟议项目将解决紧迫和广泛的农业白粉病问题，重点是葡萄藤。白粉病是葡萄藤上普遍存在的一种病原菌，对产量和产品质量有重要影响。该团队开发了一种非转基因RNAi方法来限制特定白粉病基因的功能，并筛选出最有效地减少植物病害的靶标。在这项提案中，该团队将筛选其他新的白粉病靶标，并对至少一种非常有前途的RNAi产品进行实地测试。使用这种方法可以容易地鉴定新的白粉病靶标，并且在生长季节过程中用不同的RNAi产物处理葡萄藤可以提供限制白粉病疾病的具有成本效益且更安全的方法。 RNAi产品是可生物降解的，并且具有高度特异性，脱靶量最小，这使得它们比目前的治疗方法更具环境友好性。 该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to reduce agricultural loss due to powdery mildew. The wine and grape industry is a multi-billion dollar industry which is heavily impacted by powdery mildew disease that reduces yield and product quality, resulting in an 'off' flavor. For grapes, powdery mildew treatment represents 75% of pesticide costs, and current treatment methods are becoming less effective. Every grape-bearing acre is treated numerous times in a growing season, typically with sulfur treatments interspersed with the use of systemic fungicides (chemicals that inhibit powdery mildew protein function). However, resistance to currently used fungicides is increasingly common and recent reports suggest that sulfur poses health risks. We are using a non-GMO approach called RNAi (RNA interference) which limits the production of specific powdery mildew chemicals in an environmentally friendly process. In addition, the market for the proposed products will be further explored, and a detailed commercialization plan will be developed with active input from commercialization experts and industry stakeholders. Training in entrepreneurship of women and minorities is an important component of this project, which is led by women and will include women and minority Agriculture Innovation Undergraduate Interns.The proposed project will address the pressing and widespread problem of powdery mildew disease of agriculture, focused on grapevine. Powdery mildew is a ubiquitous pathogen of grapevine that has a major impact on yield and product quality. The team developed a non-GMO RNAi approach to limit the function of specific powdery mildew genes and the means to screen for the targets that most efficiently result in decreased disease on plants. In this proposal, the team will screen for additional novel powdery mildew targets and perform field testing of at least one highly promising RNAi product. Novel powdery mildew targets can be readily identified using this approach and grapevine treatment with distinct RNAi products over the course of the growing season can provide a cost-effective and safer means of limiting powdery mildew disease. RNAi products are biodegradable and highly specific with minimal off-targets, making them attractive as more environmentally benign than current treatments. Intellectual property for the target identification process and efficacious powdery mildew targets will be secured.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.