Israeli scientists use the sterile insect technique alternative to highly toxic pesticides

NetEase reported March 22 to explore "Science Daily," March 17, 2010 report - the Hebrew University in Jerusalem agricultural researchers have developed a sustainable improvement of pest control methods, through the "sexual super- strong "been neutered male and female insects to control pest insects mating. So scientists hope to soon provide us with an efficient and promising alternative ways to supply in the market can eliminate pests without damaging the environment.

Chemicals, such as DDT (DDT, a pesticide, is very difficult to degrade in the environment, most countries have banned or restricted the production and use of DDT), since the early last century has been used to control crop pests or disease vectors . However, this approach has led to pest resistance to pesticides, but also to human health and the environment have caused a serious negative impact.

As an alternative to chemicals, the Hebrew University of Agriculture, Robert Smith, professor of the Department of Food and Environmental Boaz Yuval (Boaz Yuval) is an old method to improve and work hard, the old method is called for the sterile insect technique. This method is currently used to prevent dozens of species of insects. Principle is to train you want to control a large number of insect specimens, classified according to sex, so male insect sterilization, male sterilization insects eventually released into the wild. Male sterilization is expected to be mating with wild females, after mating the female will not birth to fertilized eggs, thereby reducing the number of pests.

However, Professor Yuval, cultivating a large number of male insects, neutering them and releasing them to the place of delivery process can seriously affect their competitive edge. Professor in the Department of Entomology in Yuval's laboratory research focuses on how to improve this technology, and applied to the fruit flies and mosquitoes.

Prof. Yuval has studied the insects to define sexual attraction for male behavioral and physiological factors that factors, followed by the light of the factors that have been designed to give sterilized male insects out of the way these features.

One of these factors is the nutritional status. Professor Yuval found that male insects fed with high protein foods can significantly improve their sexual performance. Professor Yuval recently found the body of bacteria dwelling in the fruit fly is important, but the lack of training incubator Drosophila fruit flies in the wild can be found in bacteria.

Mastered this information, the professor and his colleagues Yuval is a protein created by the bacteria-enhanced "Breakfast of Champions", before the male insects are released to provide them with the "Breakfast" When they are released to the field found their sexual performance was significantly improved (in the laboratory cultured insects, bacteria not originally wild insects; This operation also after the bacteria with wild insects.) Their findings are published in "International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal" on.

Professor Yuval believe that this method can be successfully used on a variety of animal and plant pests, but also can be applied to disease transmission to humans living organisms, which developed an important, organic and environmentally friendly method of pest control