LAKELAND, Fla.—Florida Citrus Mutual recently reported that Florida’s orange crop could shrink within five years by about 12 percent to 140 million 90-pound boxes, as the state battles the tree-killing disease known as “Citrus Greening Disease,” or Citrus Huanglongbing (HLB), reported Newswise.
HLB is a bacterial disease spread by an insect called a citrus psyllid. It has no known cure and is responsible for the significant decrease in citrus production in many countries in Asia, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Brazil.
However, hope may be on the horizon and provide an alternative to pesticides and removing infected trees. According to Molecular Biologist Nathan P. Lawrence, PhD, vice president of marketing at Pressure BioSciences, Inc., researchers recently sequenced the DNA of the HLB bacterium, an important step toward starting the process of genetically engineering trees to resist the disease. The process called Pressure Cycling Technology (PCT) may have played a role in helping to extract high quality DNA from the bacterium.
“New sample preparation technologies enable scientists to extract biomolecules related to agriculture and soil-based pathogens more quickly, accurately, and efficiently than ever before. PCT employs cycles of hydrostatic pressure between ambient and ultra-high levels (up to 35,000 psi and greater) to safely, reproducibly, and efficiently release DNA, RNA, and proteins from food, plant, microbial, and other biological samples within minutes, allowing for more rapid and accurate downstream testing,” he said. “We are committed to working with plant pathologists in the United States and abroad to help improve their understanding of this very serious citrus disease.”
