{"id":87496,"topic":"peptides","source":"Texas A&M Stories","title":"Citrus greening treatment developed at Texas A&M receives EPA approval - Texas A&M Stories","url":"https://stories.tamu.edu/stories/citrus-greening-treatment-developed-at-texas-am-receives-epa-approval/","url_hash":"d934088e64fa8028dc89d89c59bd3ab34d1e3549","author":"","summary":"Citrus greening treatment developed at Texas A&M receives EPA approval Texas A&M Stories","content":"After over a decade of investigation at Texas A&M AgriLife Research, a citrus greening disease treatment has received unconditional registration from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).\nIn short, the product, registered by Maryland-based Silvec Biologics Inc., has passed all regulatory reviews, and the EPA considers it safe and effective for its intended purpose — protecting citrus trees from a disease that has devastated the U.S. citrus industry. The breakthrough represents a key step toward allowing the treatment to be sold and used in the market. According to Silvec, citrus growers are expected to gain access to the product in late 2026.\nThe treatment relies on science pioneered at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco by Dr. Kranthi Mandadi, center director and professor in the Texas A&M University Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology. He and his research team demonstrated that naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides from spinach, known as defensins, can protect citrus trees from huanglongbing, or citrus greening, one of the most destructive diseases in modern agriculture.\nThe spinach defensin-based therapy product’s ability to be sold commercially without a tolerance limit marks a turning point for the U.S. citrus industry, which has struggled to prevent citrus greening losses.\nMandadi’s work began as a collaboration with Dr. Erik Mirkov, an AgriLife Research professor and plant pathologist in Weslaco, Texas. Working together, the two discovered the spinach defensin peptides as a possible treatment. Early studies supported by AgriLife Research, the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research and Southern Gardens Citrus of Clewiston, Florida, laid the groundwork for advanced testing, peptide screening and field trials.\nA naturally nontransmissible strain of CTV (citrus tristeza virus) already common in Florida citrus trees was reprogrammed to prompt the trees to produce the spinach-derived defensin peptide therapy, according to Southern Gardens Citrus. The CTV technology doesn’t alter the tree’s genome; rather, it functions like an immunization for citrus trees. A small piece of plant material from a specially developed source tree carrying the spinach defensin peptide is grafted onto an existing citrus tree. Once established in the tree, the CTV continues producing the defensin peptide, which helps fight citrus greening disease bacteria.\n“The progress Dr. Mandadi and collaborators have made makes me hopeful for the future of our citrus industry,” Dale Murden, president of Texas Citrus Mutual, said. “We will have new, sustainable treatments that could keep citrus trees productive under disease pressure. They aren’t just answering research questions but are developing field products to support growers so we can farm profitably.”\nThe research and development effort spanned multiple public and private institutions working together as a force for good for the nation, and it was supported by multistate, coordinated agricultural projects from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program, the AgriLife Research Insect Vectored Diseases program and the Texas A&M Division of Research Advancing Discovery to Market funding program.\nSilvec and Mandadi’s team continues to investigate additional applications of spinach defensins, including in potatoes affected by zebra chip disease and other crop biothreats. 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The breakthrough represents a key step toward allowing the treatment to be sold and used in the market. According to Silvec, citrus growers are expected to gain access to the product in late 2026.\nThe treatment relies on science pioneered at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco by Dr. Kranthi Mandadi, center director and professor in the Texas A&M University Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology. He and his research team demonstrated that naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides from spinach, known as defensins, can protect citrus trees from huanglongbing, or citrus greening, one of the most destructive diseases in modern agriculture.\nThe spinach defensin-based therapy product’s ability to be sold commercially without a tolerance limit marks a turning point for the U.S. citrus industry, which has struggled to prevent citrus greening losses.\nMandadi’s work began as a collaboration with Dr. Erik Mirkov, an AgriLife Research professor and plant pathologist in Weslaco, Texas. Working together, the two discovered the spinach defensin peptides as a possible treatment. Early studies supported by AgriLife Research, the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research and Southern Gardens Citrus of Clewiston, Florida, laid the groundwork for advanced testing, peptide screening and field trials.\nA naturally nontransmissible strain of CTV (citrus tristeza virus) already common in Florida citrus trees was reprogrammed to prompt the trees to produce the spinach-derived defensin peptide therapy, according to Southern Gardens Citrus. The CTV technology doesn’t alter the tree’s genome; rather, it functions like an immunization for citrus trees. A small piece of plant material from a specially developed source tree carrying the spinach defensin peptide is grafted onto an existing citrus tree. Once established in the tree, the CTV continues producing the defensin peptide, which helps fight citrus greening disease bacteria.\n“The progress Dr. Mandadi and collaborators have made makes me hopeful for the future of our citrus industry,” Dale Murden, president of Texas Citrus Mutual, said. “We will have new, sustainable treatments that could keep citrus trees productive under disease pressure. They aren’t just answering research questions but are developing field products to support growers so we can farm profitably.”\nThe research and development effort spanned multiple public and private institutions working together as a force for good for the nation, and it was supported by multistate, coordinated agricultural projects from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program, the AgriLife Research Insect Vectored Diseases program and the Texas A&M Division of Research Advancing Discovery to Market funding program.\nSilvec and Mandadi’s team continues to investigate additional applications of spinach defensins, including in potatoes affected by zebra chip disease and other crop biothreats. 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He and his research team demonstrated that naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides from spinach, known as defensins, can protect citrus trees from huanglongbing, or citrus greening, one of the most destructive diseases in modern agriculture.\nThe spinach defensin-based therapy product’s ability to be sold commercially without a tolerance limit marks a turning point for the U.S. citrus industry, which has struggled to prevent citrus greening losses.\nMandadi’s work began as a collaboration with Dr. Erik Mirkov, an AgriLife Research professor and plant pathologist in Weslaco, Texas. Working together, the two discovered the spinach defensin peptides as a possible treatment. Early studies supported by AgriLife Research, the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research and Southern Gardens Citrus of Clewiston, Florida, laid the groundwork for advanced testing, peptide screening and field trials.\nA naturally nontransmissible strain of CTV (citrus tristeza virus) already common in Florida citrus trees was reprogrammed to prompt the trees to produce the spinach-derived defensin peptide therapy, according to Southern Gardens Citrus. The CTV technology doesn’t alter the tree’s genome; rather, it functions like an immunization for citrus trees. A small piece of plant material from a specially developed source tree carrying the spinach defensin peptide is grafted onto an existing citrus tree. Once established in the tree, the CTV continues producing the defensin peptide, which helps fight citrus greening disease bacteria.\n“The progress Dr. Mandadi and collaborators have made makes me hopeful for the future of our citrus industry,” Dale Murden, president of Texas Citrus Mutual, said. “We will have new, sustainable treatments that could keep citrus trees productive under disease pressure. They aren’t just answering research questions but are developing field products to support growers so we can farm profitably.”\nThe research and development effort spanned multiple public and private institutions working together as a force for good for the nation, and it was supported by multistate, coordinated agricultural projects from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program, the AgriLife Research Insect Vectored Diseases program and the Texas A&M Division of Research Advancing Discovery to Market funding program.\nSilvec and Mandadi’s team continues to investigate additional applications of spinach defensins, including in potatoes affected by zebra chip disease and other crop biothreats. 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He and his research team demonstrated that naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides from spinach, known as defensins, can protect citrus trees from huanglongbing, or citrus greening, one of the most destructive diseases in modern agriculture.\nThe spinach defensin-based therapy product’s ability to be sold commercially without a tolerance limit marks a turning point for the U.S. citrus industry, which has struggled to prevent citrus greening losses.\nMandadi’s work began as a collaboration with Dr. Erik Mirkov, an AgriLife Research professor and plant pathologist in Weslaco, Texas. Working together, the two discovered the spinach defensin peptides as a possible treatment. Early studies supported by AgriLife Research, the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research and Southern Gardens Citrus of Clewiston, Florida, laid the groundwork for advanced testing, peptide screening and field trials.\nA naturally nontransmissible strain of CTV (citrus tristeza virus) already common in Florida citrus trees was reprogrammed to prompt the trees to produce the spinach-derived defensin peptide therapy, according to Southern Gardens Citrus. The CTV technology doesn’t alter the tree’s genome; rather, it functions like an immunization for citrus trees. A small piece of plant material from a specially developed source tree carrying the spinach defensin peptide is grafted onto an existing citrus tree. Once established in the tree, the CTV continues producing the defensin peptide, which helps fight citrus greening disease bacteria.\n“The progress Dr. Mandadi and collaborators have made makes me hopeful for the future of our citrus industry,” Dale Murden, president of Texas Citrus Mutual, said. “We will have new, sustainable treatments that could keep citrus trees productive under disease pressure. They aren’t just answering research questions but are developing field products to support growers so we can farm profitably.”\nThe research and development effort spanned multiple public and private institutions working together as a force for good for the nation, and it was supported by multistate, coordinated agricultural projects from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program, the AgriLife Research Insect Vectored Diseases program and the Texas A&M Division of Research Advancing Discovery to Market funding program.\nSilvec and Mandadi’s team continues to investigate additional applications of spinach defensins, including in potatoes affected by zebra chip disease and other crop biothreats. 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The breakthrough represents a key step toward allowing the treatment to be sold and used in the market. According to Silvec, citrus growers are expected to gain access to the product in late 2026.\nThe treatment relies on science pioneered at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco by Dr. Kranthi Mandadi, center director and professor in the Texas A&M University Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology. He and his research team demonstrated that naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides from spinach, known as defensins, can protect citrus trees from huanglongbing, or citrus greening, one of the most destructive diseases in modern agriculture.\nThe spinach defensin-based therapy product’s ability to be sold commercially without a tolerance limit marks a turning point for the U.S. citrus industry, which has struggled to prevent citrus greening losses.\nMandadi’s work began as a collaboration with Dr. Erik Mirkov, an AgriLife Research professor and plant pathologist in Weslaco, Texas. Working together, the two discovered the spinach defensin peptides as a possible treatment. Early studies supported by AgriLife Research, the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research and Southern Gardens Citrus of Clewiston, Florida, laid the groundwork for advanced testing, peptide screening and field trials.\nA naturally nontransmissible strain of CTV (citrus tristeza virus) already common in Florida citrus trees was reprogrammed to prompt the trees to produce the spinach-derived defensin peptide therapy, according to Southern Gardens Citrus. The CTV technology doesn’t alter the tree’s genome; rather, it functions like an immunization for citrus trees. A small piece of plant material from a specially developed source tree carrying the spinach defensin peptide is grafted onto an existing citrus tree. Once established in the tree, the CTV continues producing the defensin peptide, which helps fight citrus greening disease bacteria.\n“The progress Dr. Mandadi and collaborators have made makes me hopeful for the future of our citrus industry,” Dale Murden, president of Texas Citrus Mutual, said. “We will have new, sustainable treatments that could keep citrus trees productive under disease pressure. 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