Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** plant fungal diseases present an…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** plant fungal diseases present an ongoing and significant threat to global agriculture, causing approximately 10% of annual crop losses worldwide. These diseases not only result in substantial economic losses exceeding $200 billion annually but also raise concerns regarding the environmental and health impacts associated with fungicide use. Although resistant plant varieties and fungicides are commonly employed to protect crops against fungal diseases, they often prove insufficient in safeguarding vital tree, vine, and bush crops. The extensive use of fungicides is widespread, with a staggering 320,000 metric tons of fungicide active ingredients used globally in 2017 according to FAO statistics. For example, among the agricultural sectors facing formidable challenges, viticulture growers encounter significant difficulties combating devastating fungal diseases such as powdery mildew, grey mold, downy mildew, black ROT, and anthracnose. The cultivated grapevine varieties belonging to vitis vinifera, which comprise the majority of vineyards, lack genetic resistance and exhibit varying degrees of susceptibility to fungal infections. Consequently, extensive fungicide programs requiring multiple spray applications throughout the growing season are employed. In years conducive to epidemic development, an alarming amount of 19.5 KG/HA of active ingredients is annually applied to prevent fungal colonization. However, this reliance on repeated fungicide applications heightens the risk of developing fungicide resistance. Thus, there is an urgent economic imperative to seek new, effective, and environmentally sustainable control measures in trees and vines.silvec is a pioneering company dedicated to developing innovative products that utilize RNA interference (rnai) technology for controlling plant pathogens. Our groundbreaking approach centers around an internal delivery system employing a phloem-limited, independently mobile virus-like RNA (irna) vector. DR. Anne simon, a CO-founder of silvec and chief scientist, initially characterized this remarkable technology at the university of maryland (UMD), where the invention originated. The irna vector is precisely engineered to incorporate an RNA segment that naturally converts into small interfering rnas (sirnas) within the plant. In an intriguing interplay between plants and pathogens, these small rnas are taken up by fungi. Together with the protein complex risc, they selectively bind to specific messenger rnas (mrnas) within the fungi, effectively silencing them and hindering the production of critical proteins. Silvec's research has yielded remarkable success, demonstrating a reduction in viral levels exceeding 3,000-fold by utilizing our engineered irna vector to inoculate plants against highly pathogenic viruses. As the exclusive licensee of UMD's irna vector technology, silvec has primarily focused on combating the devastating bacterial disease huanglongbing (HLB) in citrus trees. This disease HA, s inflicted significant damage on citrus production in florida and is rapidly spreading to other states. Our solution involves grafting infected plants with our irna vector, which carries inserted sirna molecules and information for expressing anti-microbial peptides, effectively immunizing trees against harmful plant viral and bacterial pathogens. The sbir funding enables silvec to concurrently develop ongoing viral and bacterial products while expanding into fungal products. The ability to control gene expression and mitigate pathogen infections using RNA interference technology holds immense potential to revolutionize the agriculture industry, comparable to the impact of vaccines and antibiotics in human medicine. In phase i, we successfully demonstrated the potential of the cyvav-sirna platform to reduce the severity of gray mold disease in the model plant nicotiana benthamiana. By targeting fungal genes susceptible to commercial fungicides, we achieved promising results. In phaseii, our goal is to build upon the phase i findings and optimize the platform for full-scale commercial application in grapevines. Additionally, we aim to broaden the platform's scope to include other economically important fungal diseases such as powdery mildew. We will conduct assessments to evaluate the safety and environmental impact of the cyvav vector, while larger-scale greenhouse trials will gauge the platform's effectiveness. Successful commercialization of the cyvav-sirna platform will provide grapevine growers and cultivators of trees, vines, and bushes with a secure, potent, and environmentally friendly solution for managing fungal diseases.silvec is committed to advancing this technology and driving transformative change in the agricultural sector.by harnessing the unique capabilities of rnai, silvec is dedicated to making a transformative impact in the field of plant pathogen control, revolutionizing agriculture by providing effective solutions to a wide range of diseases affecting various crops and offering resilience and protection against harmful plant pathogens.