Letter Report to the Florida Department of Citrus on the Review of Research Proposals on Citrus Greening, December, 2008 (2008)

HLB proposals recommended for funding

122

Falk

Controlling HLB by controlling psyllids with RNA intereference

$198,274

3

$602,507

$198,274

3

$602,507

$198,274

236

Yamamoto

Can insecticides and mineral oil avoid transmission of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus by Diaphorina citri?

$39,275

2

$78,000

$39,275

2

$78,000

$237,549

21

Brown

The citrus psyllid transcriptome and time course differential gene expression in Ca. Liberibacter-infected/free whole psyllids and organs

$450,438

3

entry blank

$165,000

3

$495,000

$402,549

Budget interpreted from proposal, assuming entries on budget page are in error.

79

Gowda

Development of sensitive, non-radioactive and rapid tissue blot diagnostic method for large-scale detection of citrus greening pathogen

$41,040

2

$82,500

$41,040

2

$82,500

$443,589

Committee expressed some concern about sensitivity of the tissue blot method.

204

Spann

Strategies to minimize growth flushes of mature citrus trees with pruning practices and plant growth regulators to reduce psyllid feeding

$149,238

3

$450,000

$137,238

3

$411,714

$580,827

114

Keyhani

Development of Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, tissue culture cell lines

$62,860

1

$62,860

$80,000

1

$80,000

$710,827

Recommend budget increase to facilitate distribution and use of cell lines.

78

Gottwald

Efficacy of interplanting citrus with guava as a control strategy for Huanglongbing

$323,077

2

$1,198,741

$270,000

2

$540,000

$980,827

16

Briansky

Alternative Hosts of HLB to Assist in Disease Management

$205,000

3

$615,000

$205,000

3

$615,000

$1,185,827

Change in select agent status should reduce costs.

40

Damsteegt

Psyllid mediated completion of pathogenicity tests (Koch’s Postulates) with a pure culture of the associated Huanglongbing causal bacterium

$175,000

2

$350,000

$75,000

2

$225,000

$1,260,827

Budget reduced unless need for Brlansky’s participation can be justified; funding for year 2 requires completion of Koch’s postulates in year 1.

145

Moore

Evaluate Differences in Response to HLB by Scions on Different Rootstocks

$55,000

3

$165,000

$55,000

3

$165,000

$1,315,827

71

Gmitter

International citrus genome consortium (ICGC): Providing tools to address HLB and other challenges

$1,300,000

3

$2,500,000

$800,000

3

$1,600,000

$2,115,827

Committee considered budget request to be excessive for the activities proposed.

95

Hartung

Preparation of antibodies against Candidatus liberibacter asiaticus

$242,540

3

$714,000

$195,540

3

$564,000

$2,311,367

Annual support for consultants Briansky and Damsteegt reduced $50K per year ($150K total). Pysllid rearing & infectivity not well described. The recommended budget was reduced to bring it in line with the expected efforts in the various laboratories involved.

77

Gottwald

Epidemiology and disease control of HLB

$295,251

4

$1,198,741

$160,000

3

$480,000

$2,471,367

Recommend employing US-based postdoc in place proposed UK postdoc, salary reduced from 190K to 50K; the 4 yr term requested is not allowed by the

217

Stelinski

Development of Effective Guava-based Repellent to Control Asian Citrus Psyllid and Mitigate Huanglongbing Disease Incidence

$177,369

3

$500,000

$114,000

3

$385,000

$2,811,758

Reduced funding is recommended because the investigators have published work using a GC with sulfur detection, so the need for this equipment did not seem justified, as they presumably have access to such equipment. Furthermore, the materials and technical support budgets appear excessive to conduct the described research, so the committee recommended funding for these areas be reduced (25% and 33% respectively).

126

Lopes

Factors influencing acquisition and inoculation of Candidatus Liberibacter spp. by Diaphorina citri

$63,200

3

$189,600

$63,200

3

$189,600

$2,874,958

163

Triplett

Integrative approaches to discover pathogenesis-associated proteins from the causal agent of citrus greening disease and build new diagnostic tools

$471,981

3

$930,311

$400,000

3

$860,000

$3,274,958

The cost and value of the subcontracts ($269,570 year 1) is questioned because the salary requests in the subcontracts seem high for the activities described, e.g., well established antibody cross absorption steps.

113

Kang

Correlative microscopic and molecular characterization of the microbiome in the citrus phloem tissue

$109,411

2

$223,082

$100,000

1

$100,000

$3,374,958

Budget was reduced based on the activities proposed; a second year of funding should be considered only following a first year result demonstrating application of the antibody.

214

Stelinski

Quantitative measurement of the movement patterns and dispersal behavior of Asian citrus psyllid in Florida for improved management

$101,631

2

$195,000

$101,631

2

$195,000

$3,476,589

179

Rouse

Cultural Practices to Prolong Productive Life of an HLB Infected Tree

$181,887

3

$290,000

$148,290

3

$222,808

$3,624,879

Committee recommends reducing the personnel budget by 25% for years one and two based on anticipated workflow.

162

Duan

Dissecting the Disease Complex of Citrus Huanglongbing in Florida

$473,512

2

$975,608

$250,000

2

$500,000

$3,874,879

Retain objectives 3 and 4 only; USDA primers should be among those applied in this research.

2

Albrigo

Characterize the roles of calfose and phloem proteins in citrus Huanglongbing (HLB) symptom development

$196,539

3

$518,610

$100,000

3

$260,000

$3,974,879

Retain objectives 1a and 2

38

Cox

Management of Pyslla in tree fruit crops using RNA interference

$106,915

3

$329,379

$106,915

1

$106,915

$4,180,852

One year of support for proof of concept to show if there is dimunition of expression due to application of RNAi.

203

Spann

Using physical and chemical property changes of citrus leaves as early indicators of HLB infection and effects of added plant nutrients

$164,631

3

$495,000

$164,631

1

$164,631

$4,345,483

One year of support for proof of concept that any spectral or other rapid measure without tissue extraction can reflect HLB specifically.

191

Schumann

intensively managed citrus production systems for early high yields and vegetative flush control in the presence of greening disease

$229,552

3

5600,000

$229,552

3

$600,000

$4,575,035

The effort described should required fewer personnel than requested: Committee recommends negotiation to a reduced budget.

144

Moore

Agrobacterium-mediated Genetic Transformation of Mature Citrus Tissue

$224,000

3

$648,000

$125,000

3

$375,000

$4,700,035

This project should be performed as a collaboration rather than using a Spanish consultant.

175

Rogers

Resistance and cross-resistance development potential in Asian citrus psyllid to insecticides and its impact on psyllid management

$150,315

2

$300,000

$75,000

2

$150,000

$4775,035

Fund only objectives 1 and 2.

215

Stelinski

Identification of psyllid attractants and development of highly effective trapping and attract-and-kill methods for improved psyllid control

$180,049

3

$500,000

$180,049

3

$500,000

$4,955,084

48

Dollet

Attempts to in vitro culture Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus isolates in order to fulfil Koch’s postulates

$95,313

2

$167,378

$95,313

2

$167,378

$5,050,397

42

Dandekar

Identification and modeling of early responses to HLB infection to improve disease management

$381,636

1

$381,636

$250,000

1

$250,000

$5,300,397

Reduce expenses incurred at sites other than Davis; project will necessarily ramp-up, so expenses should be less than requested.

34

Cicero

Gross and fine structure localization of Liberibacter in citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri organs: elucidating the transmission pathway

$120,000

3

$289,620

$120,000

3

$289,620

$5,420,397

125

Lin

Development of SSR markers for detection, genotyping, phenotyping and genetic diversity assessment of Ca Liberibacter stains in Florida

$105,342

3

$264,087

$105,342

3

$264,087

$5,703,739

Genotyping vs phenotyping to characterize HLB strain severity is a key element to study in this proposal.

231

Wang

Characterize the microbiomes associated with Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus infected citrus, psyllid, dodder, and periwinkle

$145,114

2

$259,000

$145,114

2

$259,000

$5,848,853

176

Rogers

Effects of nutrition and host plant on biology and behavior of the Asian citrus psyllid and implications for managing psyllid populations

$98,333

3

$300,000

$66,000

3

$200,000

$5,914,853

Retain objectives 2 and 3 only; objectives 1 and 4 are poorly developed and should be abandoned.

93

Hall

Pathogen-Vector Relations between Asian Citrus Psyllid and Liberibacter asiaticus

$213,434

3

$616,112

$112,000

1

$112,000

$6,026,853

One year for proof of concept of the feeding system; retain objectives 1 ($100K) and part of objective 2 ($12K) only

213

Stelinski

Development and optimization of biorational tactics for Asian citrus psyllid control and decreasing huanglongbing incidence

$99,778

2

$190,000

$90,000

2

$180,000

$6,116,853

Eliminate objective 3.

230

Wang

Genome sequencing of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus

$248,916

2

$429,600

$248,916

2

$429,600

$6,365,769

196

Setamou

Coupling citrus flush management and dormant chemical spray as a strategy to control populations of Asian citrus psyllid

$56,794

2

$113,000

$56,794

2

$113,000

$6,652,563

5

Baldwin

Effects of HLB on quality of orange juice and identification of HLB-induced chemical signatures in fruit juice and leaves

$147,567

2

$234,634

$147,567

2

$234,634

$6,800,130

161

Powell

A Rapid Screening Process for Chemical Control of Huanglongbing

$75,730

2

$175,000

$75,730

2

$175,000

$6,875,860

129

Lu

Manipulating SA-mediated defense signaling to stimulate broad-spectrum resistance to HLB and other diseases in citrus

$184,897

3

$510,000

$184,897

1

$105,897

$7,060,757

Limited success of the proposed approach in other systems indicates that the proposed research is high risk; recommend one year funding for proof of concept; no justification is provided for the requested $79K consultant; recommended budget is reduced by $79K but might be restored to requested amount if consultant cost is properly documented.

67

Gmitter

Surviving HLB and canker genetic strategies for improved scion and rootstock varieties

$840,046

3

$2,400,000

$300,000

3

$900,000

$7,360,757

Cut personnel to 1 postdoc and 2 staff; collection and some other activities do not require a postdoc level appointee.

187

Schaad

Cultivation and Identification of the Causal Agent of Huanglongbing Disease of Citrus

$643,390

2

$1,195,400

$200,000

2

$200,000

$7,560,757

Recommend funding for $100K genome sequence analysis and $1 OOK culturing project but not for the screenhouse; satisfy Koch's postulates in Florida.

149

Mou

Transferring Disease Resistance Technology from a Model System to Citrus

$100,000

3

$250,000

$100,000

1

$100,000

$7,693,257

The proposed research depends on citrus transformation and regeneration having sufficient throughpup and on results from non-citrus systems being transferable or relevant to citrus and therefore is high risk; recommend one year of funding for proof of concept for the proposed approaches.

132

Machado

Analysis of transcriptome of citrus infected with Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus and Ca. L. americanus.

$82,000

2

$82,000

$82,000

2

$82,000

$7,775,257

Applicant requested $82K for year one and $82K for the two year total; objectives need to be spelled out and transcriptomics methods more adequately described.

172

Roberts

Spatial and Temporal Incidence of Ca. Liberibacter in Citrus and Psyllids detected Using Real-time PCR

$90,120

3

$270,360

$90,120

3

$270,360

$7,865,377

Considered to be an good applicable proposal.

13

Borovsky

Control of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama with protease inhibitors and RNAi.

$196,401

3

$606,510

$196,401

1

$196,401

$8,061,778

Risky approach; one year of support for proof of concept recommended.

190

Schumann

Advanced control system for variable rate application of fertilizer and pesticide to trees in the presence of greening and canker

$29,846

1

$29,846

$29,846

1

$29,846

$8,091,624

Considered to be a highly applicable proposal.

7

Bassanezi

Comparative epidemiology of citrus huanglongbing (greening) caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus and Ca. L. americanus

$138,950

3

$185,650

$28,950

3

$75,650

$8,120,574

$110K equipment budget has not been justified properly; the Committee questions whether the equipment actually is needed for this proposed project; equipment must be specifically justified if the budget is to be restored to a level above the recommended amounts.

8

Bassanezi

Reduction of bacterial inoculum and vector control as strategies to management of citrus huanglongbing (greening)

$49,000

3

$174,000

$49,000

3

$174,000

$8,169,574

Committee expresses concern about the inadequate sampling planned in this proposed research; this proposal is not as meritorious as another on a very similar topic, but still may have a contribution to make.

90

Halbert

An effective trap for Asian citrus psyllid that can be used to monitor groves and plants for sale

$150,968

2

$302,000

$100,000

2

$200,000

$8,269,574

The personnel requests are excessive in the investigator-proposed budget.

86

Graham

Does systemic acquired resistance (SAR) control HLB disease development?

$68,161

2

$132,223

$68,161

2

$132,223

$8,487,735

92

Hall

Asian Citrus Psyllid—Sampling, Biological Control, and Seasonal Profile of HLB in Adult Psyllids

$66,039

2

$128,934

$81,000

2

$162,000

$8,568,735

If this project is funded, the technician on the project should be full time.

206

Spreen

Long-Run Processed Orange Production and Price Impacts Associated with Citrus Greening in Florida and Sao Paulo, Brazil

$51,110

2

$102,000

$51,110

2

$102,000

$8,619,845

25

Burns

Combating symptom development in fruit from Huanglongbing-infected citrus trees: A transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic approach

$211,331

3

$631,615

$150,000

1

$150,000

$8,769,845

In the context of providing information that may promote disease mitigation, this proposal is considered to be high risk; Recommend funding for objectives 3, 4 and 6 only; the requested funding has been reduced accordingly and recommended for one year only to allow the investigator to collect data that may support continuation of the project.

232

Wang

Characterization the virulence mechanism of the citrus Huanglongbing pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus

$171,468

3

$398,200

$160,000

1

$160,000

$8,929,845

Proposed project has potential to provide insight into HLB disease mechanism but is risky, justifying one year support for proof of concept

140

Marrs

Determining the Microbiome of Healthy and Infected Citrus Phloem Tissue, & Determining the Genome Sequence of Liberibacter

$349,012

2

$698,023

$225,000

1

$225,000

$9,154,845

Remove specific aim 3; one year of funding for proof of concept; second year of funding, if awarded, to be on completion of sequence.

88

Gurley

Engineering citrus for resistance to Liberibacter and other phloem pathogens

$113,042

3

$335,168

$113,042

1

$113,042

$9,267,887

Recommend one year of funding for proof of concept of the proposed approaches.

84

Graham

Transmission of HLB by citrus seed

$36,561

2

$73,123

$36,561

2

$73,123

$9,304,448

Citrus canker proposals recommended for funding

74

Gottwald

The importance of lesions of citrus canke on fruit

$69,848

1

$69,848

$69,848

1

$69,848

$69,848

233

Wang

Identification and characterization of critical virulence and copper resistance genes of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri & related species

$190,200

3

$416,083

$190,200

3

$416,083

$260,048

186

Santra

Development of a novel nanoparticle/nanogel formulation for the prevention of citrus canker disease

$90,000

1

$90,000

$90,000

1

$90,000

$350,048

168

Ritenour

Pre-Grading Fresh Citrus for Canker Prior to Dumping on the Main Packingline

$34,709

2

$69,418

$34,709

2

$69,418

$384,757

202

Song

Engineering Resistance Against Citrus Canker and Greening Using Candidate Genes

$115,213

3

$330,396

$115,213

3

$330,396

$499,970

85

Graham

Survival of Xanthomonas citri ssp. citri (Xcc) to estimate risk of citrus canker transmission by infected fruit

$124,906

3

$245,812

$100,000

3

$245,812

$599,970

Biofilm investigation is unnecessary; however objective 2 is good.

81

Graham

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) for control of citrus canker on young trees

$101,664

3

$304,992

$101,664

3

$304,992

$701,634

Recommendation is based on an approach worthy of pursuit but poorly described in this proposal.

76

Gottwald

Efficacy of citrus canker control strategies, leafminer interactions, and bacterial survival.

$237,472

3

$724,230

$187,472

3

$574,230

$889,106

Over half of the first year budget is devoted to a subcontract for research to be performed in Brazil, but the justification for the Brazilian budget is incomplete; budget recommendation is reduced with the expectation of partial or complete restoration should specific and reasonable justification be provided.

Proposals recommended for funding under special consideration because they do not propose a research project (infastructure)

4

Stansly

Creation and Maintenance of an Online Citrus Greening Database

$25,153

1

$25,153

$25,153

1

$25,153

$25,153

158

Pena

Development of transformation systems for mature tissue of Florida commercial varieties, and strategies to improve tree management

$342,359

1

$342,359

$92,359

1

$92,359

$117,512

Is the requested greenhouse really needed? Committee members believe it is not and that the budget should be reduced accordingly but with an option for restoration should proper justification be provided.

108

Irey

Support for the Southern Gardens Diagnostic Laboratory

$109,306

2

$243,856

$109,306

2

$243,856

$226,818

119

Lee

Recovery of Citrus germplasm in Florida

$36,970

3

$332,817

$36,970

3

$332,817

$263,788

170

Roberts

Diagnostic Services for growers for detection of HLB to aid in management decisions

$124,740

3

$374,220

$124,740

3

$374,220

$388,528

199

Sieburth

Rutaceous Germplasm Preservation

$71,000

1

$71,000

$71,000

1

$71,000

$459,528