08/04/2026
๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ฟ๐๐โ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด?
Since citrus greening was first detected in Florida in 2005, the disease has caused an estimated $20 billion in economic losses to the state's citrus industry, contributed to job losses, and led many growers to shift to alternative crops.
One reason citrus greening has been so difficult to overcome is that commercial citrus production relies on genetically similar trees. Because citrus is propagated through grafting, many trees in a grove share the same genetic makeup, leaving them vulnerable when new diseases emerge.
Ph.D. student HamZa Ashfaq, working in Dr. Zhanao Deng's lab, is contributing to a collaborative effort with the UF IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center to evaluate gene-edited grapefruit plants developed for improved resistance to citrus greening and citrus canker.
Hamza's research focuses on identifying the genetic changes introduced into these plants through DNA sequencing and evaluating how those changes influence disease resistance in greenhouse trials. His work helps identify the most promising grapefruit lines for the next stage of testing.
This fall, selected plants will be transplanted to a U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved field site, where Hamza will monitor disease levels and plant growth to determine how they perform under field conditions.
Together, this research is helping determine whether gene editing can produce grapefruit varieties with improved resistance to citrus greeningโoffering a potential new tool to help protect Floridaโs citrus industry.
