Entrepreneurship
Apart from foundational research works, we constantly and actively push our idea towards applications in real industries. Via promoting the idea to a novel product that can be eventually applied in agriculture, we drafted the business plan and conducted deep communication with top agricultural drug company. The entrepreneurship activities provided chances for us to reflect our designs, respond to the market demands, and, step by step, be more responsible for our products, especially its potential adverse effects.
Business Plan
1. Market and General Picture
Currently, citrus greening has spread worldwide, afflicting countries across Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. The disease has caused significant economic loss and poses a threat to the survival of citrus trees. Regrettably, no viable solutions are applicable to cure the disease. While some methods have been attempted in practice, they failed to halt the disease's relentless advance or to heal the infected citrus trees [1]. Furthermore, current treatments are characterized by their limited economic benefits and prohibitively high costs [2]
2. Our Project
Innovatively, we have successfully devised an all-encompassing system to combat Huanglongbing from three distinct angles. Targeting at pathogen, vector, and host, we thoroughly consider all factors regarding the happening and spread of Huanglongbing. This trigonal system has a significant therapeutic effect and industrial potential for large-scale production, saving the global citrus industry in the long run. Moreover, we believe the system outweighs the previous citrus-treating plans economically. Having concluded the scientific groundwork, we have charted a clear path for industrial production as well as the scenario for the final product.
The culmination of our project will yield a liquid solution housing two distinct gene-edited phages, capable of producing therapeutic proteins and small interfering RNA (siRNA), respectively. The protein, AMP, will serve a dual purpose: kill the bacteria that causes Huanglongbing and help boost the host’s immune response for long-term prevention. Meanwhile, the small interference RNA is designed to target the disease-transmission vector, citrus psyllid, thus arresting the disease's progression and mitigating further economic losses. To ensure a stable and satisfactory outcome, therapeutic phages will be encapsulated within harmless bacteria and then released into the external environment.To elucidate further, our system boasts several advantages that outshine existing solutions.
User-Friendly
Firstly, our product is easily manageable even without professional instructions. By engineering phages and integrating optimal AMP or dsRNA genes, the phage has the ability to produce copious amounts of protein and RNA autonomously. Consequently, following bacteria infection, phages can proliferate and consistently impact the citrus to control the disease. Customers, citrus farmers, just need to spread the liquid to the citrus leaves, then the treatment will commence.
Enhanced Therapeutic Efficiency
Secondly, our product exhibits a satisfactory therapeutic effect and has the potential to cure infected citrus trees. Currently, there exist no methods to eliminate vectors, forcing the removal of infected plants to avoid further economic loss. Differently, in our project, a specially designed small interference RNA is applied to the control of citrus psyllid, leading to a nearly complete psyllid elimination.
Future-Proofing
More importantly, our project not only addresses present infections but also safeguards citrus trees against potential future afflictions. The therapeutic protein AMP not only combats the bacteria but also boosts the plant’s immune response, offering long-term protection. This approach could have far-reaching implications and potentially lead to the eradication of Huanglongbing.
Discussion with Qilu Pharmaceutical
We have collaborated closely with various industrial companies and scientific agencies for more professional insights and updated industrial intelligence.
In consultation with Qilu Pharmaceutical, one of the top pharmaceutical companies in China, we gained invaluable insights into the landscape of drug manufacturing and marketing.
Through the discussion with the company, we get to know that Huanglongbing indeed remains one of the outstanding problems in the world, which results in huge economic losses every year. As evidenced by the plight of citrus growers in Jiangxi, China, millions of acres of citrus trees faced removal and destruction due to the unbridled spread of the disease. Therefore, our project is of great significance and may solve the problem. Besides, existing solutions mostly focus on prevention by applying pesticides to kill citrus psyllid, however, it has limited effect. Our project represents a groundbreaking departure, effectively addressing both prevention and treatment.
Moreover, the project’s industrial potential has garnered recognition. Given that the technique of treating plants with live bacteria has already found application in agriculture, the technology required for our project is mature enough to support further production. mportantly, the company attested that, owing to the selectivity of the produced protein and RNA,, it is highly unlikely that the remaining AMP or siRNA in the outside environment will pose potential biohazard risks to other species. Thus, our project is poised to maintain a high level of biosafety, ensuring the sustainable development of the environment remains unimpeded.
References
1: Ghosh D, Kokane S, Savita BK, Kumar P, Sharma AK, Ozcan A, Kokane A, Santra S. Huanglongbing Pandemic: Current Challenges and Emerging Management Strategies. Plants (Basel). 2022 Dec 29;12(1):160. doi: 10.3390/plants12010160. PMID: 36616289; PMCID: PMC9824665.
2: Bhatta UK. Alternative Management Approaches of Citrus Diseases Caused by Penicillium digitatum (Green Mold) and Penicillium italicum (Blue Mold). Front Plant Sci. 2022 Feb 22;12:833328. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.833328. PMID: 35273621; PMCID: PMC8904086.