Crops all over the world are in danger due to the influence of plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs). PPNs feed on the roots of crop-plants and thereby consume the energy that the plant needs to develop normally. Especially, potato plants are terrorized by the potato cyst nematodes Globodera pallida and Globodera rostochiensis. According to current estimations, these two parasites are responsible for an annual loss of 460 million euros in Europe alone due to reduced potato yields. Current methods to fight them off are either insufficient or detrimental to the biodiversity in the soil. New and sustainable ways of potato crop protection against potato cyst nematodes are, therefore, urgently needed. We, the iGEM Groningen 2020 team, have developed a new way to fight potato cyst nematodes with RootPatch, a community of bacteria that coats the roots and protects them from the nematodes. By producing neuropeptides acting specifically on the nervous system of the potato cyst nematodes, RootPatch repels the nematodes from the plants without having any effect on other organisms in the soil.
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