The ‘potato bug’ (pictured), a notorious crop pest, was a major driving force behind the development of the first chemical insecticides in the 1930s.
Biotech company GreenLight Biosciences’ Calantha spray, which received marketing approval in the US this year, is designed to kill only the potato moth, leaving other insects unaffected.
This is a huge improvement over today’s insecticides, which act like cluster bombs and kill everything in their path.
Based on Calantha RNA interference technologya mechanism that blocks the expression of specific genes.
The insecticide contains one molecule RNA the double helix that insects take in when they eat potatoes.
Once inside the cells, the molecule triggers a complex process of reactions that eventually blocks the production of a specific protein essential for the insect’s survival.
The same approach can be applied to other species. GreenLight Biosciences has filed a marketing application for an insecticide targeting the varroa mite, a major bee pest, while other companies are developing RNA interference insecticides for mosquitoes and other insect species.