In modern medicine, researchers are always searching for the next cure, knowing that a panacea for all ills may never be possible. While this type of preventative measure is not yet a reality for humans, it may soon become one for plants. Researchers at the University of Kentucky have created a product that can be applied to crops to protect them from any disease that may strike by engaging a key mechanism in a plant’s defense system called systemic acquired resistance.

“When this signal pathway is induced, it prepares a plant to protect itself from any pathogen, so it's like taking one vaccine and you're protected for life against any potential diseases,” said Dr. Aardra Kachroo, professor in the Department of Plant Pathology in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the University of Kentucky.

“We have looked at many different aspects (in the research),” she added. “The first thing is: how does a plant understand that it's being invaded by a pathogen? Then, how is it reacting? It's much more complicated for plants than for animals or humans because they can't move, they're stuck where they are. They have to deal with whatever the conditions are and fight that pathogen at that time. So since 2009, we have focused on this very unique pathway in plants and that is actually the crux of the product.”

Before exploring this research at the university, Dr. Kachroo was previously a postdoctoral scholar at Cornell University, received a graduate fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation, and worked on research at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences. In 2003, her husband Dr. Pradeep Kachroo joined the University of Kentucky’s Department of Plant Pathology and she soon followed. Continuing to engage with her passion for plant disease and defense, she ended up applying for and being named to an open faculty position in the department, and from there was able to start her own lab to do research. So, she and her husband got to work, and through their research were able to develop a broad-spectrum product that defends plants against a lifetime of pathogens. Seeing the potential for this product in the market, they teamed up with investors at PhytoLabs LLC and founded PhytoGenesis.

As co-founder of this new startup, Dr. Kachroo believes that this pathway and the PhytoGenesis product could be the solution to some serious problems experienced by farmers today. Currently, farmers must make estimations about what types of diseases and the severity they will experience with their crops in a given year, leaving the door open for error and potentially wasting time and money.

“The problem is they have to predict or make an educated prediction of what kind of diseases they're going to encounter this year, and that's going to decide what fungicides they're going to use, what chemical mixtures, and how many times they're going to apply it, and so on,” Dr. Kachroo explained.

This process can include troubleshooting to find a disease diagnosis, confirming that diagnosis, and submitting samples to a plant diagnostic lab. After getting the plant properly diagnosed, a farmer must then spend a significant amount of time and money managing the disease through genetic, cultural, biological, and/or chemical controls.

“So that's the main thing for small growers, like an organic grower for example—their profit margin is very, very small, and especially organic farmers, they have to think about what they're going to use because it has to be organic certified,” Dr. Kachroo said. “So usually using anything on their plants is cost prohibitive. If you have grown vegetables in your garden, you know it's impossible to grow something without having disease on them. So it's just like a game—do you plant at the right time and just make enough produce that will break even? Or make a little bit of profit or not?”

The PhytoGenesis product aims to eliminate the guesswork, and providing prophylactic relief from any future pathogen infections using a single application.

 “Almost every chemical that's available out in the market is a fungicide, so there's very little choice for bacterial diseases, and nearly nothing that directly targets viruses,” Dr. Kachroo said.

A single application of the PhytoGenesis product would protect the crops for the entire season, meaning farmers wouldn’t need to guess anymore, saving time and money. And as it is non-toxic and plant-based, it is a safe alternative for organic farmers. While PhytoGenesis is still in its early stages, the team envisions the spray product will be delivered to crops by a backpack sprayer or by airplane and subsequently possibly as seed coatings.

“So this product takes away all of the questions like: Should I be applying to my plants thrice this year? Or should I be looking at the weather and predict what insect pressure I'm going to have, and therefore what viral pathogen to account for? Did I have existing pressure from a fungal pathogen from last year? Do I need to worry about that?  The biggest advantage of our product is takes away all of that preplanning and guess work” Dr. Kachroo said.

“It's going to reduce the production cost for farmers. We're hoping to market it as a one-time application, because based on our work and our development, a single application is sufficient. We're hoping that it will hold up in larger field trials over multiple years, because that would be a huge differential in the production cost.”

While the product is still being tested with field trials scheduled in 2023, the PhytoGenesis team is moving forward, with a big thanks to their learnings and participation in the UAccel program. The 2022 Phase 1 greenhouse trails were recently completed with compelling results. They are currently hiring researchers for their lab at the Coldstream campus, Lexington, Kentucky and are aiming to have a minimum viable product available in the next year. The team is also looking to potentially take on investment to develop a large scale production method for the product.

If you’d like to get in touch with the PhytoGenesis team or learn more about their work, please visit phytogenesis.com.

Read more on Dr. Aardra Kachroo in her “I am a UK Innovator” interview.

By: Makenzie Purdom

Launch Blue nurtures promising startup founders and university innovators through intensive accelerator and incubator programs. Its funding partners are the University of Kentucky: Office of Technology Commercialization, KY Innovation, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and the National Science Foundation.