SBIR Phase I: Directed protein evolution: Creating high affinity protein ligands for controlling economically detrimental plant pathogens and pests

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响是创造下一代作物产品。据估计，病原菌造成的作物损失约占总产量的20%-40%。这项拟议的技术是一种环境友好的抗击害虫的方法，即使它们进化到对传统方法具有抵抗力。这项技术可以用于其他生命科学应用，包括特殊的癌症治疗。拟议的项目是通过生产能够与植物病原体的毒力因子结合使其发生故障的配体来培育新的持久的抗病作物。新的蛋白质进化技术是开发高亲和力蛋白质配体的快速和自动化平台。它包括一个自我维持的、迭代的细菌培养系统，该系统驱动由M13噬菌体表达的新蛋白质和肽序列的出现。一旦病原体或害虫对我们产生的配体产生抗药性，就可以迅速进化出新的、更强的结合配体来控制它们。该技术广泛适用于为几乎任何亲和力相互作用开发优化的蛋白质序列。其他应用包括蛋白质纯化、抗体优化以及设计用于癌症免疫治疗的新型受体。 这一奖项反映了国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to create next generation crop products. Crop loss due to pathogens has been estimated to be approximately 20-40% of total possible yield. The proposed technology is an environmentally-friendly way to combat pests, even if they evolve to be resistant to conventional methods. This technology can be used for other life sciences applications, including special cancer treatments. The proposed project is to generate new and durable resistant crops by producing ligands that can bind to virulence factors of plant pathogens to make them malfunction. The novel protein evolution technology is a rapid and automated platform for developing high-affinity protein ligands. It comprises a self-sustaining, iterative bacterial culture system that drives the emergence of new protein and peptide sequences expressed by the M13 bacteriophage. Once pathogens or pest develop resistance for the ligands we generate, new and stronger binding ligands could be quickly evolved to control them. The technology is broadly applicable to developing optimized protein sequences for virtually any affinity interaction. Other applications include protein purification, antibody optimization as well as engineering novel receptors for cancer immunotherapy.  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.