The innovation could help combat Citrus Greening disease

Invaio Sciences, Inc announced a new and exclusive world-wide license agreement with the University of California (UC-Riverside) for a novel technology developed by Professor Hailing Jin at the University of California Riverside.

The technology could help control the pathogen that causes HLB/Citrus Greening – a severe plant disease carried by an insect called the Asian citrus psyllid that has threatened the citrus industry by destroying millions of acres of citrus crops throughout the United States and abroad.

“The prospects of addressing this type of incurable devastating crop disease to help agricultural communities and improve the environmental impact of production is exciting and rewarding”, said Dr. Gerardo Ramos, Chief Science Officer at Invaio Science from his Basel, Switzerland office.

The innovation that Invaio will now license from UC Riverside harnesses naturally-occurring compounds called anti-microbial peptides produced naturally by citrus trees, that have been shown in extensive studies conducted by Dr. Jin, to kill the bacteria responsible for HLB in infected trees, and essentially “curing” infected trees.

Dr Jin, a professor of genetics, microbiology and plant pathology at UC Riverside, studies the molecular mechanisms of plant immunity and pathogen virulence, with the goal of developing effective and environmentally friendly strategies to control plant diseases and to ensure sufficient food production.