Bringing Back Florida Citrus

With support from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) and the National Science Foundation's Small Business Innovation Research Programs, Soilcea has developed citrus trees resistant to Huanglongbing (HLB or citrus greening). Since its discovery in Florida in 2005, HLB has killed over 50 million trees, resulted in over 33,000 jobs lost, cost the state more than $20 billion in lost revenue, and slashed citrus production by a staggering 95%—from 292 million boxes to 14 million.

CRISPR Precision Breeding

Mirroring the evolutionary process of gradual adaptation and natural selection, Soilcea is using CRISPR to bring back Florida’s citrus. Backed by funding from the USDA HLB Multi-Agency Coordinating (MAC) Group and Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension (ECDRE)—in collaboration with the University of Florida—Soilcea’s new citrus varieties are demonstrating significantly reduced disease levels and vigorous growth in the field. The image below shows the striking difference: a robust, HLB-resistant Soilcea tree compared to a struggling control tree, both planted at the same time.