Using spider venoms to develop novel, safer, insecticides for crop protection

为了满足不断增长的人口的需求，农作物的生长有赖于高效的农业活动。损害农作物的昆虫阻碍了农业生产力，导致30%的农作物因虫害而损失。用杀虫剂处理农作物是最广泛使用的控制害虫的方法，然而，我们只依赖于少量有效的化合物。整个欧洲对新烟碱类化合物的禁令突显了这一点，由于担心这些化合物会导致蜜蜂和其他非靶标生物的减少，欧洲禁止在户外作物上使用吡虫啉、氯硫菌素和硫代甲草胺。结果，农民求助于使用一种更老的化学物质--拟除虫菊酯，害虫已经对这种化学物质产生了抗药性，导致一些作物无法生长。对于蚜虫来说，这是一个特别的问题，因为这些害虫不仅侵袭植物，还传播许多破坏性的植物病毒。例如，在离开欧洲仅两周后，英国政府考虑紧急使用甲氧西林处理甜菜种子，因为目前控制携带甜菜黄化病毒的桃蚜的措施无效。因此，未来对作物病虫害的控制面临重大挑战，我们迫切需要探索作物保护的新选择，其中之一是确定和开发生物杀虫剂，这是对环境更安全的天然化合物。

The growth of crops to meet the demand of an ever growing human population is reliant on high and efficient agricultural activity. Insects that damage crops hamper agricultural productivity, contributing significantly to the 30% of crops lost to pests. Treating crops with insecticides is the most widely-used method of controlling insect pests, however, we are reliant on only a small number of effective compounds. This is highlighted by the ban of neonicotinoids throughout Europe, which prevented the use of imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam on outdoor crops, amidst concerns that these compounds are contributing to the decline of bees and other non-target organisms. As a result, farmers resorted to the use of an older class of chemicals, the pyrethroids, to which pests have become resistant, rendering the growth of some crops non-viable. This is a particular issue for aphids as these pests not only infest plants, but also vector numerous damaging plant viruses. For example, only two weeks after leaving Europe, the UK government considered the emergency use of thiamethoxam for the treatment of sugar-beet seed due to the ineffectiveness of current measures for control of the aphid Myzus persicae which vectors the beet yellows virus. The future control of crop pests, therefore, presents major challenges and we urgently need to explore novel options for crop protection, one of which is the identification and development of biopesticides, natural compounds that are safer for the environment.