Pilar Domingo, researcher at the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), center mixed of the University of València (UV) and the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC).

Pilar Domingo-Calap, researcher at the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), a joint center of the University of València (UV) and the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), directs research with phages (bacterial viruses) that has begun to treat crop plants affected by the bacteria Xylella fastidiosa in the Balearic Islands. Developed by Evolving Therapeutics SL, a spin-off of the UV, it is the first pilot treatment with phages in agriculture in Spain, a technique that has already been used in people with cystic fibrosis. the microbiota of the organism to be treated, whether it is a plant, an animal, or even patients,” explains Pilar Domingo-Calap, scientific director of Evolving Therapeutics and leader of the Environmental and Biomedical Virology research group at I²SysBio. This company forms part of AgrotecUV, an initiative of the UV Science Park which has high-tech firms in agriculture that operate through public-private collaboration.

The treatment of crop plants in Mallorca, financed by the Department of Agriculture of the Government of the Balearic Islands has relied on previous work from I²SysBio and the Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research (IVIA), and aims to attack the Xylella fastidiosa, one of the deadliest bacteria in the Mediterranean basin and for which there is no treatment. This pest, which is already endemic in Mallorca, mainly affects almond trees, olive trees and vineyards, and is one of the main quarantine pathogenic organisms in the European Union, for which farmers must eliminate affected plants. style="color:black">Evolving Therapeutics SL, founded by Pilar Domingo-Calap and Marisa Domingo-Calap with the support of the Respiralia Foundation, a non-profit Balearic entity that supports people with cystic fibrosis, offers preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic solutions against bacteria in an effective and ecologically safe way. Precisely, resistant bacteria in Spain already cause three times more mortality than traffic accidents and require new control strategies. Phage therapy, increasingly known for its promising results, can also be used as a biocontrol in animal and plant health. If new leaves grow again, we will not see if the treatment has worked, but we are monitoring it over time to see its effectiveness,” explains Francesc Adrover, plant health technician at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment. and biologically safe,” indicates Marta López, head of the plant health section of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment of the Government of the Balearic Islands. “Although the results are validated in the long term, it is a step forward in the fight against bacteria with new biological treatments, ecologically safe, and that will surely cause a lot of talk in the near future,” he highlighted. to Xylella and understand its potential use in plants. New phages isolated in the research group of Pilar Domingo-Calap, in collaboration with the group of Ester Marco-Noales (IVIA), were the germ. text-align:justify">

Feet photo:

• Vine crops treated on the Islands Balearic Islands.

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