Development of natural products against the emerging plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa

Biomar (http://biomarmt.com/) is a biotech company located in León (Spain) fully devoted to marine microbiology and natural products (NPs) chemistry. With one of the largest microbial libraries in the world, Biomar develops natural solutions for different industries in collaborations with leading companies in the field. Our agriculture projects involve biostimulants, bioherbicides, biofungicides and bioinsecticides from microbial origin. All of them are focused on NPs obtained by microbial fermentation, therefore from sustainable biotechnological sources. Among others, our company enabled the identification of new conjugation and biofilm formation inhibitors, which are under evaluation for potential therapeutic use in different applications. 
Development of efficient methods for Xylella fastidiosa control is a worldwide priority. Recently, Biomar has taken an active part in a platform to search for innovative approaches and solutions to the disease caused by X. fastidiosa. The project aims at developing natural growth and biofilm’s altering compounds to prevent or treat X. fastidiosa plant infections by characterizing already reported active molecules, a collection of extracts and underexplored natural products. First, we have developed and validated a reliable high-throughput screening assay against X. fastidiosa (Xf-HTS). Currently, part of our compounds and extracts libraries are being screened using our Xf-HTS and first promising candidates and active analogs have been chemically identified. Efficacy will be also evaluated in vitro under host-mimicking conditions using microfluidic devices. Further development of this project will require greenhouse and field trials with host plants and insect vectors that will be complemented by a combination of analytical tests, and genetic and molecular approaches to try to develop an effective treatment against this devastating disease.