Improving efficacy of biopesticides through understanding mode of action

杀虫剂被广泛用于控制农业害虫，但由于环境和人类健康问题，选择越来越有限。生物杀虫剂Bt为控制世界上最具破坏性的昆虫害虫之一的毛虫提供了一个有价值的“软”选择。然而，人们对摄入Bt如何杀死昆虫知之甚少，这种知识差距限制了提高功效和对抗抗性的选择。该项目将行业终端用户（棉花RDC;拜耳作物科学）与研究培训（麦考瑞大学）和应用研究（CSIRO）联系起来，以模拟Bt如何与昆虫肠道相互作用。这一模式将为确保Bt生物农药的持续和改进的功效做出宝贵的贡献。

Insecticides are used extensively to control agricultural pests, but options are increasingly limited owing to environmental and human health concerns. A biopesticide, Bt, provides a valuable ‘soft’ option for control of caterpillars that are amongst the world's most damaging insect pests. However, little is known about how ingested Bt kills insects and this knowledge gap constrains options to improve efficacy and to counter resistance. This project connects industry end users (Cotton RDC; Bayer CropScience) with research training (Macquarie University) and applied research (CSIRO) to model how Bt interacts with the insect gut. This model will make valuable contributions to ensuring sustained and improved efficacy of Bt biopesticides.