I-Corps: Deployment of antibacterials as seed treatments

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of technology to alleviate the impact of Bacterial Panicle Blight (BPB) by providing a seed coating treatment that will kill the pathogen before it can cause damage throughout the plant. Rice is a food staple for more than 3 billion people around the globe. Rice diseases affect rice production worldwide, and as a result, represent a significant threat to global food security. Among rice diseases, Bacterial Panicle Blight, caused by the pathogen Burkholderia glumae, is particularly problematic as there are not effective methods to control it. The deployment of this technology may reduce yield loss to farmers due to this disease, while also reducing the costs associated with the purchase and use of antibacterial chemicals that are not effective. This technology may benefit rice farmers in the United States and across the world. Although this project focuses on a specific bacterial disease in rice, it is possible that its impact can be expanded to other crop diseases. This I-Corps project is based on the development of an environmentally-friendly and effective seed coating treatment to control Bacterial Panicle Blight (BPB). Plant diseases caused by microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria significantly affect agricultural productivity. Traditionally, fungal plant diseases have been controlled by synthetic fungicides that while effective, pose significant threat to the environment. In contrast to fungal diseases, effective methods to control bacterial diseases in crops are unavailable, mostly because the use of synthetic antibiotics in crops can increase the likelihood that antibiotic resistance can be transmitted to human bacterial pathogens. There is a critical need to find antibacterials effective against plant diseases without detrimental effects to human health or the environment. Bacterial Panicle Blight (BPB) has significantly decreased rice production worldwide. The proposed technology is based on the secreted fraction of the environmental bacterium Pseudomonas protegens strain PBL3. Because the P. protegens PBL3 secreted fraction contains a mixture of molecules with diverse modes of action, the likelihood that bacteria develop resistance is very small. This technology has the potential to provide an effective, long-lasting, environmentally-friendly and consumer-accepted method of reducing BPB in rice. 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.