Spinach Antimicrobial Peptides Combat Plant Diseases

Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists developed a method to use spinach antimicrobial peptides as a defense against two economically devastating plant diseases. Researchers delivered the peptides, known as defensins, to plants using a benign virus developed by University of Florida researchers. Citrus trees infected with the bacterium responsible for citrus greening showed up to 50% increases in fruit yield compared to untreated trees after only a single application of the defensins. Similarly, when researchers applied defensins to potatoes infected with the bacterium that causes zebra chip disease, the potato plants showed minimal disease symptoms, had less disease-causing bacteria, had much less of the characteristic zebra chip discoloration, and had greater tuber numbers than untreated plants. The spinach peptides. The naturally occurring spinach peptides pose no known health risk to people and appear effective in restoring the health and yield of diseased plants.