Project Grant 20213353034509

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) awarded a $100,971 Cooperative Agreement to Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech) under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care Federal Grant Program (CFDA 10.025). The purpose of this 1-year award, effective July 1, 2024, is to develop high-throughput sequencing methods to rapidly detect and identify members of the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Biological Sciences program provides $500,000 from March 2024 through February 2027 to researchers at the University of Maryland and Silvec Biologics, Inc. to develop methods to stabilize RNA genomes in viruses that can be used as therapies to treat plant diseases. The project aims to use computational approaches, including artificial intelligence, to design RNA structures that can be inserted into virus genomes to increase...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has awarded a $211,333 Cooperative Agreement to the University of Hawaii (UH) to develop a set of diagnostic markers for species identification of the Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni). The project aims to use whole genome sequencing and bioinformatics approaches to identify informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that can differentiate between species within the B. tryoni complex. This work...

This Cooperative Agreement was awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care Federal Grant Program (CFDA 10.025). The primary purpose of this $168,300 award is to identify high-risk strawberry viruses by production region within the U.S., with the objective of developing evidence-based information on monitoring and best management practices to exclude viruses and...

This three-year, $295,654 Project Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) under the Crop Protection and Pest Management Competitive Grants Program (CFDA 10.329) will develop a recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) toolbox for field detection of diverse virus genera and species affecting cucurbits. The University of Florida, as prime awardee, will standardize genera- and species-specific RPA assays for detection of viruses...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded a $300,000 Project Grant under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program to the Regents of the University of California at Riverside. The grant aims to develop a transformative technology that leverages nanoprobes, CRISPR gene-editing, and lab-on-a-chip devices to rapidly and reliably detect Avocado Sunblotch Viroid Disease (ASBVD) in California's $400 million avocado industry. This...

The Connecticut Agricultural Experimental Station was awarded a $636,646 Project Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program. The grant will fund research to develop a novel and sustainable nanoparticle platform for delivering effective and prolonged supplies of double-stranded RNA molecules in plants. Specifically, the Station will synthesize three...

Silvec Biologics Inc. received a $650,000 Project Grant award from the Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (CFDA 10.212 - Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program / Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program) to develop RNA interference (RNAi) technologies for controlling fungal diseases in agricultural crops. The company is leveraging its proprietary internally-delivered virus-like RNA (iRNA) vector system to generate small interfering RNAs...

The purpose of this $145,987 Cooperative Agreement award by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under CFDA Program 10.025 - Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care is to develop high-throughput sequencing methods to rapidly detect and identify members of the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex directly from plant samples. The project aims to expand the range of plant hosts for which the sequencing method has been validated,...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Cooperative Agreement award to Silvec Biologics Inc. provides $994,939 in funding to develop novel RNA therapies to immunize grapevines, citrus trees, and other agricultural crops against deadly bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The key objectives are to: (1) optimize small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) against the Xylella fastidiosa bacterium that causes olive quick decline syndrome, Pierce's disease in grapes,...