Researchers at the Earlham Institute in Norwich reported a breakthrough: tobacco plants were engineered to produce insect sex pheromones. This development could reduce reliance on costly chemical synthesis for pest management and has been documented in Plant Biotechnology.
Pheromones are intricate chemical signals that organisms release to communicate reproductive readiness and mating cues. In nature, many of these signals are used by moths and related insects to coordinate mating. Farmers already employ pheromone dispensers in fields to mimic female insect signals, trapping males or discouraging mating. While some pheromones can be created through chemical synthesis, the process is expensive and can generate toxic byproducts, raising environmental concerns and regulatory hurdles. (Earlham Institute)
In the reported study, scientists used the plant Nicotiana benthamiana as a bioproduction platform to generate sex pheromones of moth species. This same facility has previously been involved in producing Ebola antibodies and coronavirus-like particles for COVID-19 vaccine research, illustrating the platform’s versatility. However, the initial pheromone production approach affected plant growth and overall yield, limiting commercial viability. (Earlham Institute)
The team addressed this challenge by refining the tobacco-based system to support the emission of a mixture of pheromones for orange and bollworm species. These results demonstrate that the engineered tobacco can secrete pheromone blends suitable for real-world pest control strategies. Testing involved exposing live insects to the produced pheromones, marking a pivotal step toward practical field applications. (Earlham Institute)