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.