Bioactive Priming Compositions for Citrus Disease Resistance and Yield
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for improving disease resistance and yield in citrus crops, particularly against diseases like Huanglongbing (HLB), are inadequate and costly, with no effective treatments available for infected trees, leading to significant economic losses.
Innovation Solution
A composition comprising bioactive priming polypeptides and inducer compounds, such as flagellin, thionins, and glucanases, applied to plants to enhance immune response and growth, combined with inducer compounds like β-amino butyric acid (BABA) and salicylic acid, to increase disease resistance and yield.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional methods (selective breeding, grafting, transgenic, agrochemical) are used to achieve desired agronomic phenotypes, then disease resistance and yield improvement can be obtained, but the cost increases significantly and effectiveness is inadequate, especially for citrus diseases like HLB
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by using bioactive priming polypeptides and inducer compounds to activate the plant's innate immune system before pathogen infection occurs. This prophylactic approach primes the plant's defense mechanisms in advance, making it more resistant to diseases like HLB without requiring expensive post-infection treatments or genetic modification procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs self-service by stimulating the plant's own immune system to fight diseases. The bioactive priming polypeptides and inducer compounds trigger the plant's natural defense responses, including the accumulation of antimicrobial compounds and activation of defense genes, allowing the plant to protect itself without external chemical interventions or costly agricultural practices.
2Reliability
If no effective treatments are available for infected citrus trees, then disease resistance cannot be improved, but significant economic losses occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent emphasizes preliminary action by applying bioactive priming compositions before disease infection occurs. This preventive strategy activates immune defenses in advance, protecting citrus trees from HLB and other diseases before they can establish infections that would lead to economic losses and reduced productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies preliminary anti-action by using inducer compounds that trigger the plant's defense mechanisms before pathogen attack. This creates a state of heightened alertness in the plant's immune system, enabling it to mount a faster and stronger response to potential threats, thereby preventing disease establishment and protecting yield.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional disease management methods are used, then some level of protection is achieved, but the cost is high and effectiveness is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes self-service by harnessing the plant's own biological systems to fight diseases. The bioactive priming polypeptides and inducer compounds activate endogenous defense pathways, including the production of antimicrobial compounds and reinforcement of cell walls, allowing the plant to protect itself without requiring expensive external chemicals or complex agricultural interventions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies parameter changes by modifying the plant's physiological state through bioactive priming. The treatment alters key parameters such as the accumulation of defense-related compounds, expression of defense genes, and activity of immune signaling pathways, transforming the plant from a susceptible state to a resistant state without requiring expensive chemical inputs or genetic modification.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The composition effectively enhances plant growth, yield, and disease resistance, reducing the impact of citrus diseases like HLB, improving fruit quality and juice content, and providing a cost-effective alternative to traditional methods.
Implementation Method 1
Bioactive priming compositions which can be delivered in agricultural formulations are provided. The compositions comprise polypeptides and/or inducer compounds and can be applied to crops to achieve agronomically desirable outcomes such as enhanced phenotypes in plants (e.g., those that exhibit protection against pests, disease agents and abiotic stress)
Implementation Method 2
Plants sense potential microbial invaders by using pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) to recognize the pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) associated with them. Flagellin is the main building block of the bacterial flagellum. The flagellin protein subunit building up the filament of bacterial flagellum can act as a potent elicitor in cells to mount defense-related responses in various plant species
Implementation Method 3
In plants, Flg22 is recognized by the leucine-rich repeat receptor kinase FLAGELLIN SENSING 2 (FLS2), which is highly conserved in both monocot and dicot plants. The binding of Flg22 to the plasma membrane-bound receptor triggers a signaling cascade that is involved in the activation of pattern-triggered immunity
Implementation Method 4
The Flg22-FLS2 interaction can also lead to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that contribute to the induction of an oxidative burst, cellular medium alkalinization, downstream induction of pathogen-responsive genes and defense-related responses which then can impart disease resistance to a plant
Data Source
AI summary
Isolated bioactive priming peptides and bioactive priming compostions comprising bioactive priming polypeptides and/or inducer compounds are provided that are useful when applied to plants in agricultural formulations. Methods of using the isolated bioactive priming peptides and/or compositions are also provided which are applied exogenously to the surface of a plant or a plant cell membrane or endogenously to the interior of a plant or to a plant cell. The isolated bioactive priming peptides and/or bioactive priming compositions when applied to a plant, a plant part, or a plant growth medium or a rhizosphere in an area surrounding the plant or the plant part increase growth, yield, health, longevity, productivity, and/or vigor of a plant or a plant part and/or protect the plant or the plant part from disease, and/or increase the innate immune response of the plant or the plant part and/or improve the quality and/or quantity of juice obtained from a plant or plant part.