Scientists Discover How to Send Insects off the Scent of Crops

Confusing insects to drive them away from their food source or from mating partners may be an alternative solution to protect crops from their potential damage. This is the essence of a paper published by Rothamsted Researcher Anthony Hooper in the journal Chemistry Communications. In nature, insects detect chemical signals such as pheromones through their antennae; the chemicals attaches to a protein called an odorant-binding protein (OBP). The insect will then behave in response to the chemical stimuli it received.

Dr. Hooper found out that there are other compounds that bind to the OBP much more strongly than the pheromone. "We could potentially apply these compounds, or similar ones, in some way to block the insects' ability to detect chemical signals. We'd expect the insects to be less likely to orientate themselves towards the crop plants, or find mates in this case, and therefore could reduce the damage." The researchers are finding ways to test this idea with crop pests especially aphids, as well as insects that carry human diseases such as tsetse flies and mosquitoes.

Chief Executive Douglas Kell of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), grant supporter of the research looks at the technology as an innovative way to prevent and control pests and diseases. "This is an interesting finding that could be applied across a number of important insect pests and may have far reaching implications for preventing human disease as well," he opined.

For details, see the media release at http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/media/releases/2009/090924_scientists_discover_how_to_send_insects_of_the_
scent.html