Crop protection (fungi, nematodes)

Utilizing VHHs for Plant Protection: Addressing Pathogen Threats and Enhancing Crop Resilience

Numerous physiological processes in nature are mediated by proteins or polypeptides, in health and in disease. This not only applies to humans, but also to all kinds of micro-organisms, some of which known to threaten crops and vineyards world wide, causing tremendous economic burden and financial loss. Research has shown that VHHs can mitigate or even counter such threats, by blocking the mechanism of infection at some stage by a given pathogen. VHHs can therefore also be used as a therapeutic that protects plants against bacterial or viral infection. VHHs can even be engineered into the plant genome, generating what is known as a transgenic plant.