Restricted Research - Award List, Note/Discussion Page
Fiscal Year: 2023
380 Sam Houston State University (142268)
Principal Investigator: Trad, Tarek M.
Total Amount of Contract, Award, or Gift (Annual before 2011): $ 98,909
Exceeds $250,000 (Is it flagged?): No
Start and End Dates: 8/1/22 - 7/31/23
Restricted Research: YES
Academic Discipline: Chemistry
Department, Center, School, or Institute: Department of Chemistry
Title of Contract, Award, or Gift: Investigating the efficiency of cholate-capped zinc ferrite nanoparticles as organometallic-control agents against the rice pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryze and X. oryzae pv. oryzicola.
Name of Granting or Contracting Agency/Entity:
United States Department of Agriculture
CFDA Link: USDA
10.025
Program Title:
n/a
CFDA Linked: Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care
Note:
SAMs 1.1.1: Gram negative bacteria Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola (Xoc) are the respective causes of rice bacterial blight (BB) and bacterial leaf streak (BLS) diseases. Depending on the rice variety, growth phase, environmental conditions, and geographic location, BB could cause devastating worldwide yield losses of up to 50%. The severity of losses could elevate to even higher percentages due to the kresek syndrome of BB. In 2019, the estimated value of rice production in the United States reported by the USDA was around $2.75 billion annually. In recent years, advanced nanomaterials have been utilized in many innovative applications in photonics, sensors, environmental remediation, biomedicine, and agriculture. Nanoparticles (NPs)-based growth stimulators, nanofertilizers, and nanopesticides could potentially surpass their conventional analogues in terms of efficiency and reduced environmental contamination. Spinel ferrite NPs have shown varied antimicrobial activity against pathogenic fungi and bacteria. Zinc oxide and other transition-metal oxide NP bactericidal activities against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria were also reported. Generally, the potency of NPs is dependent on several factors including size, shape, synthesis method, and structure of the nanoparticle as well as the targeted microbial species. Recent studies show that composites of two different nanomaterials lead to synergistic effects that improve antibacterial function. However, the mechanism of NP/bacteria interaction is not well understood. The overall goal of our proposal is to synthesize cholate-capped zinc ferrite NPs using a novel solvent-assisted mechanochemical process and in core/shell reactivity against Xoo and Xoc. Structurally, four condensed rings and several functional groups make up the rigid skeleton of the bile acid (BA) shell of the proposed NPs. The hydrophilic nature of hydroxyl groups located on the concave face of cholic acid, and the structure similar to naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Interaction of cholic acid molecules with Such novel organometallic NP core/shell design and choice of capping agent will allow for penetration into bacterial membranes in an antimicrobial mechanistic aspect similar to cationic peptide antibiotics. Samples of NPs with different core/shell ratios will be synthesized, and their organometallic activities screened against phytopathogenic Xanthomonas species, including several strains of X. axonopodis, X. alfalfae, X. campestris, and uncharacterized X. spp isolated from infected watermelons. This investigation will result in a valuable insight into bactericidal properties of mechanochemically synthesized capped ferrite nanocomposites and their bacterial eradication mechanism.
Discussion: No discussion notes