FriGEM
ENGINEERING BETTER POTATOES FOR THE FUTURE
Fighting Potato Diseases by Using AMPs
"The first problem we want to address within our project are pathogens affecting potatoe farming in Southern Alberta. Here, the fungus fusarium graminearum causes the disease dry rot in potatoes. Loss of potatoes due to fusarium happens both on the field and during the storage of potatoes. We therefore want to use antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) to fight this pathogen."
"Our team wants to engineer the potatoes, but also E. coli to produce the AMPs. Whilst engineering the potatoes is the more direct approach, there is also an adversity amongst consumers towards GMO food. As an alternative approach, the potatoes could be sprayed with the engineered E. colis. This would provide the surface of the potatoes with AMPs, whilst the potatoes can stay non-GMO."
