Gene discovery in the diamondback moth for novel pest control

小菜蛾基因的发现与新型害虫防治100967Oxitec是全球领先的以基因为基础的害虫防治公司，利用新型转基因技术为农业和公共卫生提供无杀虫剂害虫防治解决方案。Oxitec目前的目标包括蚊子、果蝇和飞蛾害虫。其中之一，小菜蛾（Plutella xylostella），是十字花科作物（卷心菜，西兰花，油菜等）最具破坏性的全球害虫。目前的防治工作每年估计耗资10亿美元，主要依靠杀虫剂，而小菜蛾对杀虫剂具有极强的抗药性。Oxitec的解决方案是在这种蛾子身上开发遗传不育的效果：在释放到田间后，“不育”的蛾子与野生蛾子交配。由于它们的后代不能存活，如果在足够的时间内释放足够的不育雄性，种群将会崩溃。我们与利物浦大学基因组研究中心（该领域的另一个领导者）合作，正在对小菱形蛾的基因组进行测序。这些数据，连同由此产生的基因表达信息，将使我们能够产生具有非常具体和有用特征的小菜蛾菌株。我们的目标是为农民提供高度可持续和物种特异性的解决方案，以解决他们最大的害虫问题，该项目将大大促进小菜蛾和其他害虫的防治工作。

Gene discovery in the diamondback moth for novel pest control; 100967Oxitec is the world leader in genetics-based insect control, and uses novel transgenic technology to provide insecticide-free pest control solutions for agriculture and public health. Oxitec’s current targets include mosquito, fruit fly and moth pests. One of these, the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), is the most devastating global pest of cruciferous crops (cabbage, broccoli, oilseed rape, etc). Current control efforts, costing an estimated US$1 billion per year, generally rely on pesticides, to which diamondback moth has an extraordinary capacity to develop resistance. Oxitec’s solution would be to develop the effect of genetic sterility in the moth: after release into the field, ‘sterile’ moths mate with wild moths. As their progeny do not survive, the population will crash if sufficient sterile males are released over a sufficient period of time. In partnership with the University of Liverpool’s Centre for Genome Research – another leader in their field – we are sequencing the diamondback moth genome. This data, together with resultant information on gene expression, will enable us to generate strains of diamondback moth with very specific and useful traits. We aim to provide farmers with a highly sustainable and species-specific solution to their biggest pest problems, and this project will provide a significant boost to this work in diamondback moth and other pests.