The fight against Xylella fastidiosa has reached the laboratory

XfSTOP aims to develop a solution to protect olive groves against the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. The project is led by InnovPlantProtect's New Biopesticides Department - Department 1, headed by researcher Cristina Azevedo.

The team is now starting laboratory work, with the aim of trying to isolate peptides (small amino acids) that inhibit the growth of the bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa. “We have established collaboration with researchers in different countries, through which we have obtained genomic DNA from different isolates [strains] of Xylella, and we are in the process of isolating the genes that code for the virulence proteins against which we want to select the peptides,” explains Cristina Azevedo.

The director of Dep. 1 said that the team is also “starting to isolate bacterial endophytes [organisms that live inside a host] present in the xylem of olive varieties grown in the Alentejo region (Cobrançosa and Arbequina) and of an Italian variety that is resistant to Xylella (Leccino), from the Herdade de Reguengo, belonging to INIAV, Elvas center”.

The project's acronym, XfSTOP, stands for “Integrated approach to disease management for the biocontrol of Xylella fastidiosa in olive trees”. The olive tree is of enormous economic importance in Portugal, particularly in the Alentejo. The biopesticide to be developed will use a microorganism capable of coexisting in the same environment as the olive tree. Xylella, The plant will then produce a biological compound capable of eliminating the bacteria. This mechanism will be sustainable, environmentally friendly and non-toxic.

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