According to a report in the journal Science, scientists have found that “Pikobodies” could enhance the ability of plants to resist diseases. In this context, it is important to understand what are pikobodies and how they can revolutionise agriculture. This is an important topic for the IAS exam GS-3 paper.

What are Pikobodies?

Pikobodies are immune system proteins created by combining plant and animal components through bioengineering.

• Plants usually use physical barriers to prevent the entry of disease-causing microorganisms. 
• In case of an unusual intrusion, internal sensors activate and infected cells perish. 
• However, as pathogens develop methods to evade these defences, plants cannot adapt instantaneously. 
• Unlike plants, animals possess adaptive immune systems that can produce numerous antibodies within weeks of exposure to a pathogen.
• To facilitate this advantage that animals have against pathogens in plants, researchers altered the internal sensor of a plant using genetic modification to include animal antibodies. 
• This technique utilizes the adaptability of the immune system to make numerous alterations for targeting invaders and transfers the same capability to plants.

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Pikobodies Experiment

In a pilot study, this was done by adding antibodies in llamas and alpacas into a protein that detects deadly blast fungus in Nicotiana benthamiana, called Pik-1. During the experiment, animal antibodies were genetically engineered to identify fluorescent proteins. The team observed that plants with pikobodies killed cells that had been exposed to the fluorescent proteins, leading to dead patches on leaves. Out of the 11 variations tested, four did not harm the leaves and induced cell death only when the pikobodies attached to the specific protein they were designed to bind to.

Furthermore, pikobodies can be combined, allowing plants to have multiple methods of attacking foreign invaders. This technique could be valuable in targeting pathogens that have the ability to evade some immune responses from various angles. Theoretically, pikobodies can be created against almost any pathogen.

Benefits of Pikobodies

1. Right now scientists have managed to develop disease-resistant plant genes by making adjustments to them, but identifying the appropriate genes and editing them can take decades. Pikobidies provide an advantage of time.
2. Many farms practice monoculture i.e. extreme lack of diversity. If such farms get attacked by any pathogen, the entire crop can get damaged. In such a scenario, added immunity would be a desirable attribute in plants.

Climate change will also change the patterns of the spread of pests and pathogens. For the sake of food security, pikobodies can be a revolutionary idea.

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