Plant cyclotides as novel sustainable tools for crop protection (2021-2024)
Abstract
This project between the University of Queensland and Syngenta, a top-tier agricultural biotech company, aims at developing new crop protection technologies based on peptides. Insecticides are essential to meet the 60% increase in food production goal set by the UN but long-term exposure to traditional insecticides can harm beneficial pollinating insect populations. Expected outcomes include an exciting new insecticide technology based on natural plant defense peptides, the cyclotides, which has potential to revolutionise crop protection, leading to safer products for the environment. Benefits from the technology include a reduction in toxic insecticide residues, precision targetted applications and agrichemicals that degrade without trace.
