Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target for the products developed during the project period arecustomers who wish to purchase and utilize an environmentally-friendly product to control diseases caused by bacterial phytopathogens. Such customers could include farmers, greenhouse producers, academic researchers, and private gardeners. Furthermore, with both data demonstratingefficacy and a production system for large-scale implementation, the technology is available for licensing by large industrial partners wishing to expand their product portfolio. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The company's management team has pitched the company and its technology to numerous large companies and investment groups. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
With this SBIR Phase II project, PhylloTech has developed an enzyme-based biochemical pesticide that can be utilized to control gram-negative bacterial diseases of potato, tomato, and other crop plants. A main objective was the development of a large-scale production system for the active ingredients, and this was successfully accomplished through the use of a scalable bacterial expression system and the implementation of specific fusion tags that allow easy target harvest. Furthermore, material generated with the large-scale production system was demonstrated to have significant efficacy as a formulated topical spray in both disease assays in the laboratory and small-scale field trials at a private farm. A full patent application and an additional provisional application have been filed to protect the technology, and the company is pursuing strategic partnerships for downstream development.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target for this research is customers who wish to purchase and utilize an environmentally-friendly product to control diseases caused by bacterial phytopathogens. Customersinclude farmers, greenhouse producers, researchers, andlarge industrial partners wishing to expand their product portfolio. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Ryan Shepherd, PhylloTech's CEO, has pitched the company and its technology to numerous large companies and investment groups. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Our main research goals for the next 12 months are to continue laboratory and field trials with AHL acylases generated with our optimized production systems, and also provide material tostrategic partners for independent testing.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
PhylloTech has continued to move forward on the technical objectives in the second year of the project. We have performed further testing of the use of two AHL acylases to inhibit gram-negative bacterial pathogens. Additionally, we have developed new production systems and protocols for both enzymes thatallow us to generate significant quantities of active ingredient. We have also filed a full application for a patent that will protect the technology, and wecontinue efforts to have AHL acylases registered as biochemical pesticides.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target for this research is customers who wish to purchase and utilize an environmentally-friendly product to control diseases caused by bacterial phytopathogens. Customers will include farmers, greenhouse producers, researchers, or large industrial partners wishing to expand their product portfolio. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Ryan Shepherd, PhylloTech's CEO, has pitched the company and its technology at both the InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum (St. Louis, MO; March 2016) and the Ag Innovation Showcase (St. Louis, MO; September 2016). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Our main research goals for the next 12 months are to generate enough AHL acylases for the EPA registration process, as well as provide AHL acylases to large strategic partners for independent testing. Additionally, we will perform field trials with exogenous enzymes in various formulations to demonstrate further product efficacy.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
PhylloTech has made significant progress on the technical objectives in the first year of the project. We have performed further laboratory testing of the use of AHL acylases to inhibit a number of gram-negative bacterial pathogens. Additionally, we have performed a first round of field testing with exogenous AHL acylase at a private farm in Brooklyn, Wisconsin. Our attempts to produce AHL acylase in plants are ongoing, and we believe that the strong efficacy data describing the use of exogenous enzyme indicate that the best strategy for product development will be as a topical spray. We are also pursuing numerous strategies to increase our production capacity from the native host. We have also initiated efforts to have AHL acylases registered as biochemical biopesticides by the EPA.
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