Biotech Updates

Scientists Develop Soyscreen Oil to Protect Biological Agent Against Pests

August 27, 2010

Scientists have discovered protection for the fungus Beauveria bassiana, a biological agent that could be a substitute for pesticides. Spores of B. bassian were suspended in liquid as insecticide. The destructive insects die when they are exposed to the germinated fungus. However, Rober Behle and colleagues observed that the spores of the fungus are vulnerable to sunlight. Thus, they combined molecules from soybean oil and ferulic acid to form the soyscreen oil which could protect the fungus. 

"The spores survive quite well in oil-based formulations. We found that soyscreen had no harmful effects on the fungus spores stored in the oil for 28 weeks. Most important, the ‘soyscreen' successfully protected the spores from degrading when exposed to sunlight."

This report was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. For more details, visit http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_ARTICLEMAIN
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