MBI Submits Novel Biofungicide to EPA for Regulatory Review

 

Growers have few choices of products that perform well on the group of fungi that cause downy mildew on grapes, potatoes, leafy greens and other crops.  MBI-110 is the result of MBI’s directed screening discovery program to find a solution that addresses this specific market need. This product is also complementary to the diseases covered by Marrone Bio Innovations’ first biofungicide, REGALIA®.

 

“We knew that new solutions for downy mildew were badly needed, so our team of scientists set out to find one,” said Dr. Pam Marrone, Founder and CEO of Marrone Bio Innovations. “Our screening platform tested more than 16,000 microbes against important plant pathogens and discovered this novel candidate with a broad spectrum of performance and stand-out activity against downy mildews.”

 

The active ingredient in MBI-110 is a new strain of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, a bacterium isolated by Marrone Bio Innovation scientists from a soil sample in the United States.  While this type of Bacillus is common in soil and other products contain the same species, MBI’s discovery is unique in its performance on downy mildews, white molds and Botrytis gray mold. The company has an issued patent on the novel strain in MBI-110.

 

Tests conducted at Marrone Bio Innovations’ research and development lab show that MBI-110 works by colonizing plant root hairs, leaves and other plant surfaces thereby preventing establishment of fungal and bacterial pathogens, including Sclerotinia, Macrophomina, Eutypa, Botrytis, Rhizoctonia, and Sclerotium.  Additional laboratory tests indicate that the bacterium also produces natural compounds, some of which inhibit bacterial and fungal mycelial growth, as well as spore germination. Subsequent field studies validated good results against downy mildew and black rot on grapes and cucurbits, pink rot and late blight on potatoes, Cercospora leaf spot on sugar beets, and white mold on soybean, sunflower, beans, lettuce and canola.