From the valorization of agro-industrial co-products to plant protection

Blackground

The fruit processing industry generates co-products, or grains, which essentially contain the hides and seeds of fruits that are still poorly valued. Now, the skins are rich in cutin, a polyester of hydroxylated fatty acids, a source of original natural chemical molecules which have in particular remarkable surface-active properties. Moreover, in the field of plant protection, there is a strong demand for new biocontrol solutions and the supply of products is currently limited. However, cutin is the first barrier encountered by plant pathogens which produce cutinases. The molecules released from these hydrolyses have often been considered as signal molecules in laboratory cell tests. The idea was therefore to develop a new biocontrol strategy by taking advantage of (i) an industrially accessible source of cutin monomers, (ii) the emulsifying properties of these molecules for their formulation and (iii) their biological action for the induction of plant defense. Results From industrial waste from tomato canning plants (UNIPROLEDI cooperative group), and in partnership with agro-supply company SDP, a biorefinery process was developed by INRAE to extract hydroxylated fatty acids from tomato cutin under good conditions of yield and purity. Once formulated, these extracted molecules have shown a potential for the protection of crops against their bioaggressors. Building on this proof of concept, the PEEL project aims to provide a pre-industrial demonstration of the extraction of new molecules from industrial co-products that involves multiple INRAE units. Thus, this project aims to: i) transfer the biorefinery process to an industrial scale, creating a circular economy by adding value to co-products from agro-industry, ii) evaluate the performance of these molecules to stimulate plant defenses and protect different crops (rapeseed, maize, wheat, apple, vine), while identifying the molecular mechanisms induced by these molecules in field cultivation conditions.

Results

From industrial grains from tomato canning (Uniproledi cooperative group), and in partnership with the company.

Prospects

This process has a unique potential for the development of new plant defense inducer molecules.

Partnership

INRAE units involved: UR1208 BIA (Biopolymers Interactions and Assemblages, Nantes), UMR1345 IRHS (Research Institute in Horticulture and Seeds), UE Horti (Angers)