The University of Florida's Division of Sponsored Research has been awarded a $1,124,354 federal Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) program. The grant will support research to mitigate losses from citrus greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB), which threatens the entire U.S. citrus industry.
Specifically, the funded project will create a portfolio of HLB resistance genes for transformation and gene editing approaches. The research team will use high-throughput data analysis and AI tools to identify citrus proteins that interact with the HLB pathogen, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas). Potential gene targets will be verified experimentally and used to construct gene editing/transformation vectors for testing in select citrus varieties and elite germplasm. Transgenic and edited citrus lines will be propagated, with a subset transferred to field trials and the remaining plants evaluated for pathogen titer, symptomology, and gene expression in greenhouse studies over a two-year period. Research progress will be shared with the citrus industry and HLB scientists through meetings and publications.
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