KILL XYL project.

Our project KILL XYL is to find a cure for the disease caused by the plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa. This disease currently causes the loss of thousands of acres of European crops and currently there is no cure for it.

At Aix-Marseille University we thought about developing a solution that multiple aspects. First, we wanted to improve detection of the disease. To do this we use an NDVI camera that will help us to see if the plant is stressed or not. If the plant is infected by Xylella fastidiosa, it suffers from a hydric stress that stops the photosynthesis.

Secondly, we want to get rid of the bacteria. Phages are natural predators of bacteria. They can also be used to transfer DNA into bacteria. Phages have the additional advantages of being strain specific and modulable. As we wanted an eco-friendly treatment, that might easilly obtain authorizations for marketing, we decided to create phage-like particles (PLPs), that aren't able to spread. So we will construct phage specific to X. fastidiosa, capable of injecting toxic genes into the bacteria.

The main cause of the plants' death, is the hydric stress induced by the accumulation of biofilm into the xylem vessels. To disrupt the biofilm we thought about different solutions. The first one is to stop the bacterium producing any extra poly-saccharide. This could be achieved by quenching the quorum sensing of the bacterium with the help of a little fatty acid called: 2-cis-decenoic acid. Secondly, we wanted to destroy the exo-polysaccharides. An enzyme coming from a bacteriophage could fulfil the use by the hydrolysis of polysaccharides.

Hence, KILL XYL simply detects, disrupt and kill Xylella fastidiosa.