Scientists grow insect sex pheromones in transgenic camelina plant for sustainable pest control
The camelina plant, a source of cooking oil for centuries, is on its way toward revolutionizing pest control in agriculture.
Scientists at ISCA, Inc., a green agtech company based in Riverside, Calif., and their collaborators in Sweden have successfully grown insect sex pheromone precursors in genetically modified strains of camelina plants, creating a low-cost source of pheromones needed for sustainable pest control.
The Swedish research team from the Lund University, Swedish Agricultural University, and SemioPlant, modified the genetic code of these plants to contain genes of insects and other organisms that guide the formation of the desired pheromones. The plants produce insect pheromone precursor compounds in their abundant seed oil.