Development of novel semiochemicals for crop protection
Lead Research Organisation:
Cardiff University
Department Name: Chemistry
Abstract
Due to pressure on available farmland there is an urgent need for sustainably enhancing food crop production. One approach to combat insect pests it to repel or attract them, using (semio)chemical signal baited traps, keeping them away from high value crops.
We have produced modified aphid repellent and attractant semiochemicals through a strategic chemical process using enzymes. A novel and highly attractive aphid semiochemical (DMGD) has shown high field attraction to a range of pest aphids and has been demonstrated in field simulating studies as offering pest aphid control by the push-pull approach with the push against plant colonisation provided by the natural repellent, GD, in the isoprenoid group of natural products and the pull by the related DMGD. Opportunities for commercial scale up have been identified and can now underpin field trials for aphid control and commercial testing specifically against the lettuce aphid in the high value field production of lettuce.
We have produced modified aphid repellent and attractant semiochemicals through a strategic chemical process using enzymes. A novel and highly attractive aphid semiochemical (DMGD) has shown high field attraction to a range of pest aphids and has been demonstrated in field simulating studies as offering pest aphid control by the push-pull approach with the push against plant colonisation provided by the natural repellent, GD, in the isoprenoid group of natural products and the pull by the related DMGD. Opportunities for commercial scale up have been identified and can now underpin field trials for aphid control and commercial testing specifically against the lettuce aphid in the high value field production of lettuce.
Organisations
Publications
Cheruiyot D
(2022)
Field evaluation of a new third generation push-pull technology for control of striga weed, stemborers, and fall armyworm in western Kenya
in Experimental Agriculture
Huynh F
(2018)
Sesquiterpene Synthase-Catalyzed Conversion of a Farnesyl Diphosphate Analogue to a Nonnatural Terpenoid Ether.
in Methods in enzymology
Huynh F
(2020)
Accelerating Biphasic Biocatalysis through New Process Windows.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Johnson L
(2020)
Modular Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Terpenes and their Analogues
in Angewandte Chemie
Johnson LA
(2020)
Modular Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Terpenes and their Analogues.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Li W
(2021)
Overexpression of the homoterpene synthase gene, OsCYP92C21, increases emissions of volatiles mediating tritrophic interactions in rice.
in Plant, cell & environment
Partridge SJ
(2021)
Iridoid Sex Pheromone Biosynthesis in Aphids Mimics Iridoid-Producing Plants.
in Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
Pickett JA
(2022)
Independent evolution of the iridoid biosynthetic pathway in plants and insects.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Pickett JA
(2019)
Removing constraints to sustainable food production: new ways to exploit secondary metabolism from companion planting and GM.
in Pest management science
Radadiya A
(2020)
Characterizing human odorant signals: insights from insect semiochemistry and in silico modelling.
in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
| Description | Synthesising enough material for field scale trials has proved extremely resource intensive, so we developed a fully bio-catalytic synthesis (manuscript now published) for the components of the push-pull system; germacrene D and dimethyl germacrene D. This allows a two step synthesis carried out in water using purified recombinant enzymes to replace a length(l)y chemical synthesis requiring inert atmospheres, repeated chromatography and a highly-skilled operator. Recent advances, mostly in reaction engineering to optimise the space/time yield have resulted in major advances in isolated yields with hundreds of milligrams of germacrene D and the attractant analogue now being isolated readily. Field trials have been completed and final data analysis is ongoing. Publications on this analysis are in preparation. |
| Exploitation Route | While of considerable use to this project, the bio-catalytic synthesis technique we have developed can be applied generally to the synthesis of terpene and methylated terpene products. As many natural hormones and semiochemicals are based on terpenes with additional methyl or methylene groups, this could have a wide range of applications for crop protection. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Environment,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Title | OLFACTORY LIGANDS |
| Description | The invention provides analogues of (S)-germacrene D analogue which have improved insect repellent properties compared to (S)-germacrene D analogue or which have insect attractant properties. |
| IP Reference | US2018271089 |
| Protection | Patent granted |
| Year Protection Granted | 2018 |
| Licensed | Commercial In Confidence |
| Impact | Further development has been supported by Super Follow-On Funding. |