SBIR Phase I: A novel biocontrol agent against fungal infection and fungal toxin contamination on food and feed crops

这一小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响是引入了一种经济高效的作物保护方法，使其免受真菌破坏。每年，由于真菌感染和农作物被真菌毒素(真菌毒素)污染，全球生产的粮食有25%被浪费。全球每年因这种食物浪费造成的社会、环境和经济损失合计为2T美元。拟议中的创新的核心是利用一种未开发的细菌，为全美范围内广泛的作物种植者带来一系列负担得起的新的抗真菌药物，这些药物旨在与现有的收获前和采后处理方案无缝整合。该产品快速、易于制造，无需昂贵的提纯程序。它们应该对环境和人类健康是安全的，并有明确的行动机制。因此，可以节省价值数十亿美元的农作物、能源和资源，从而提高美国的农业可持续性和经济竞争力。它还可能通过提高食品安全来促进美国公众的健康和福利。最后，它可以为其他抗击植物、动物和人类真菌疾病的创新铺平道路。拟议的项目将通过开发第一个产品，保护玉米作物在收获前和收获后防止真菌腐烂，从而证明这一创新的可行性。玉米是美国种植最多的作物。每年，玉米行业因感染一种真菌(黄曲霉)而损失10亿美元，导致作物受到一种名为黄曲霉毒素的致癌真菌毒素的污染。项目期间的关键技术目标将是：(1)确定产品的功能成分并展示其作用模式；(2)评估单位质量细菌生物量所能产生的那些成分的数量；(3)确定在防止玉米作物真菌感染和黄曲霉毒素污染方面最有效的最低活性产品的最佳配方；以及(4)对最低活性产品进行最佳毒性分析。完成后，所获得的知识将为产品的有效知识产权保护和监管战略提供宝贵的见解，并确定与可扩展性、一致性和产品保质期相关的任何潜在挑战，这些挑战将决定产品大规模制造的成本和物流。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 introduce a cost-effective way of crop protection from fungal spoilage. Every year, 25% of the food produced by the world is wasted due to fungal infections and contamination of crops with fungal toxins (mycotoxins). The combined social, environmental, and economic global annual cost of this food wastage is $2T. The proposed innovation is centered on harnessing an untapped bacterium to bring a new line of affordable antifungals to a broad base of crop growers across the United States, which are designed to seamlessly integrate with existing preharvest postharvest treatment protocols. The products are quick and easy to manufacture without costly purification procedures. They should be safe for the environment and human health and have a defined mechanism of action. As a result, billions of dollars’ worth of crops, energy, and resources could be saved, leading to increased agricultural sustainability and economic competitiveness of the United States. It may also advance the health and welfare of the American public by enhancing food safety. Finally, it can pave the way for other innovations to combat fungal diseases in plants, animals, and humans.The proposed project will demonstrate the feasibility of the innovation by developing the first product, safeguarding corn crops from fungal spoilage during both preharvest and postharvest. Corn is the most planted crop in the United States. Every year, the corn industry loses $1B due to infection with a fungus (Aspergillus flavus), resulting in contamination of the crop with a carcinogenic mycotoxin called aflatoxin. The critical technical objectives during the project period will be to (1) identify the functional components of the product and demonstrate their mode of action; (2) assess the amounts of those components that can be produced per unit mass of bacterial biomass, (3) determine an optimal formulation of the minimal viable product that can be most effective in preventing fungal infection and aflatoxin contamination in the corn crop, and (4) conduct an optimal toxicity profiling of the minimal viable product. Upon completion, the knowledge obtained will provide valuable insights for effective intellectual protection and regulatory strategy for the products from the technology and identify any potential challenges related to scalability, consistency, and product shelf-life, which will determine the costs and logistics for large-scale manufacturing of the products.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.