Engineered fusarium oxysporum biocontrol strain for fusarium wilt management in banana and other crops

Overview

This project develops a biological control solution for fusarium wilt, a devastating disease affecting banana (Musa sp.) and other economically important crops. The approach involves engineering the soil fungus Fusarium oxysporum with viral genes that induce hypovirulent traits, such as reduced colonization capacity and decreased spore production and fertility. Once introduced, these traits can spread to wild pathogenic strains through a natural fungal process called anastomosis, the fusion of hyphae between compatible fungi. The goal is to create an optimized biocontrol strain that suppresses disease in the field without relying on chemical fungicides.

Technical specifications

• Target pathogen: Fusarium oxysporum, the causal agent of fusarium wilt in banana and other crops
• Mechanism: Insertion of viral genes associated with hypovirulence into F. oxysporum via electroporation of a plasmid carrying the genes of interest
• Trait transfer: Horizontal transmission of hypovirulent traits to wild pathogenic strains through hyphal anastomosis
• Key phenotypic effects: Reduced radial growth, reduced colonization capacity, and decreased number and fertility of spores
• In vitro validation: Growth and virulence assessment on PDA media in Petri dishes, comparing transformed strains against non-transformed controls
• Coculture testing: Evaluation of trait transmission when the engineered strain is cocultured with wild-type pathogenic fungi
• Biocontrol assay: Inoculation of in vitro plantlets with wild pathogenic F. oxysporum followed by treatment with the engineered strain to measure disease suppression

Technology readiness level

This technology is at an early research stage, corresponding to TRL 1–2. The hypothesis is grounded in published studies demonstrating that virus-infected fungi can transmit hypovirulence-related traits to pathogenic strains, but the proposed approach has not yet been experimentally tested. The research team plans to use Grant4Ag funding to perform the first round of validation, beginning with plasmid-based transformation of F. oxysporum and progressing through in vitro growth assays, coculture transmission studies, and plant inoculation trials. Successful completion of these steps would advance the technology toward laboratory-validated proof of concept and readiness for further greenhouse and field evaluation.