Characterisation of the aphid nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene family

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Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) mediate fast synaptic transmission in insects and are targets of effective insecticides such as neonicotinoids. For protecting crops, neonicotinoids have become the most widely used class of insecticides in the world. However, their use has been restricted in the European Union amidst fears that they are having adverse effects on pollinators such as the honey bee, Apis mellifera. This has resulted in the use of an older class of pesticides, pyrethroids, to which pests have become resistant. There is thus the need to develop novel pest control agents that have higher selectivity for pests over beneficial species and which allow more effective resistance management strategies.We will functionally/pharmacologically characterise nAChRs of the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, which is a major pest of crops, and of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, which is an important pollinator of crops. The aim is to determine aphid-specific features that can be exploited for the future development of insecticides that are highly selective towards pest species whilst sparing beneficial insects. The project will provide opportunities for training in skills from several diverse disciplines including molecular biology, pharmacology, electrophysiology, modelling of protein structure and ligand-binding dynamics.The research will take place at Oxford Brookes University with a placement at Syngenta's International Research Centre at Jealott's Hill in Berkshire.