Sustainable production of insect pheromones in plant factories

Pheromones are environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional pesticides for control of insect pests and tons of synthetic pheromones are produced annually.

The purpose of the project is to advance the fundamental basis for production of insect pheromones in plant factories by metabolic engineering.

We already proved the concept and produced the most common moth pheromone compounds by stable expression of the necessary genes in Nicotiana spp and the oilseed crop Camelina sativa and demonstrated their biologically activity by trapping and mating disruption. Aim 1: We now want to expand the product portfolio.

We will focus on the Camelina production platform and challenging and important doubly unsaturated pheromone components. These pheromones will be tested for biological activity and compared to conventionally produced pheromones.

Aim 2: The longterm stability of pheromone precursor production in transformed Camelina lines will be investigated by growing different generations under controlled conditions, comparing levels of precursors as well as gene expression during stages of seed development. Aim 3: We will produce genetically modified lines of N. benthamiana releasing moth pheromones from their leaves.

Insect behaviour will be studied in response to extracted pheromones and intact plants in a flight tunnel and under greenhouse conditions.Our strategy is a cost-effective “green chemistry”-alternative to synthetic pheromone production: Grow your own pheromones!