Gene discovery in the diamondback moth for novel pest control

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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.