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Never Too LATE:

Fighting Potato Late Blight via Synthetic Biology

Abstract

Cultivated potato is the world’s third most important human food crop and the number one non-grain food commodity (FAOSTAT2010) and the cultivation of which is also an important agricultural income in many countries. However it is also host to a wide range of pathogens, including Phytophthora infestans, the cause of the potato late blight and also pathogen to several other members of the Solanaceae family. P. infestans is the plant destroyer capable of attacking both potato foliage and tubers when temperature and moisture is suitable and has caused considerable annual losses in the production and processing of crops. What is even worse, if a single potato is infected by this kind of pathogen, there is a chance that the disease may spread to other potatoes in the farm via water and soil.

The biological control of the disease has attracted much attention recently. Scientists from different countries has synthesized or discovered various bioagent inducing resistance and bacteria causing antagonistic inhibition. However, there’s no efficient way to prevent and fight against potato late blight. Also, the fungicide used nowadays is detrimental to both the pathogen and host. This year we are creating a new systematic way to fight against the notorious potato late blight caused by P. infestans. We have characterized a new defensin that can significantly weaken the extracellular structure of P. infestans, specifically the cell wall of the mycelia. In this way, P. infestans cannot absorb nutrient from potato tubers so that it can’t survive through the winter, thus stopping the oomycete from thriving in the next spring.

Moreover, we designed a brand new mechanism that can be spontaneously triggered by salicylic acid and hydrogen peroxide. These chemicals are released when the potatoes are attacked by pathogens. Inspired by competitive inhibition widely used in pharmacology, we designed and improved an inhibitor aiding the entrance of P. infestans toxin (Avr 1) which can also bind to the receptor but with higher affinity. Another major problem in the biological control of potato late blight is that there’s no efficient way to detect whether the potato is susceptible to late blight. Therefore we create a soil-based microbial fuel cell (MFC) that can detect salicylic acid emission and produce oscillating current. Using this device, we can easily tell the difference between the current produced by the MFC before and after infection.

In our project design, we try to cover every aspect that can prevent, fight against, and detect potato late blight. We try to create a systematic way to prevent P. infestans to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of fungicide that might jeopardize the environment and other species. Furthermore, we will provide a standard procedure that can easily be followed by anyone without advanced knowledge on biology. We seek to not only secure the supply of food sources, but also to help farmers ride through the predicament.

Templates

This year we have created templates for teams to use freely. More information on how to use and edit the templates can be found on the Template Documentation page.