By Blake Jackson
Canisius University biology professor Robert Grebenok, PhD, is part of an interdisciplinary research team that has received a three-year, $750,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.
The funding will support studies focused on helping crop plants defend themselves naturally against insect pests, with the goal of reducing dependence on chemical pesticides.
“Prior to work done in this research area over the past 30 years, crop plants were chiefly protected from insect attack by chemical pesticides, many of which build up in the ground water and are believed to contribute to disease in humans,” says Grebenok. “Through our research, we hope to identify additional ways to assist plants in maintaining their health while reducing or eliminating pesticide use.”
The research centers on sterols, compounds insects must convert into cholesterol in order to grow and develop. According to Grebenok, insects are unable to produce cholesterol on their own and must obtain sterols through their diet. By altering the structure of sterols within crop plants, the team aims to make those plants less suitable as a food source for insect herbivores.
“We are interested in forcing herbivorous insects to choose weeds as food source by causing important crop plants to produce more of the modified sterols and, as a result, be of little dietary use to insect herbivores,” explains Grebenok. This strategy, he notes, “protects crops naturally without killing insects thereby preserving the balance of the ecosystem while reducing pesticide use.”
The project brings together faculty researchers, farmers, postdoctoral scholars, and students from Texas A&M University, the Cotton Growers Association Inc., and Canisius University. Canisius students play an active role in experiments, data analysis, and chemical studies of plants.
As Grebenok emphasizes, “Our undergraduate students are true collaborators in this work,” gaining valuable experience in interdisciplinary scientific research.
Photo Credit: istock-pkujiahe
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