MAIZE has been genetically engineered to produce a chemical rallying cry for help against the plant鈥檚 worst pest in the US.
The signal is an odorous chemical called (E)-beta-caryophyllene. It attracts nematodes that kill the larvae of the western corn rootworm, responsible for an estimated $1 billion in lost revenue in the US every year.
of the University of Neuch芒tel in Switzerland and his colleagues inserted a gene from oregano that codes for caryophyllene into maize plants.
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鈥淲e saw a 50 per cent drop in damage to the engineered plants, compared with the controls. It was quite dramatic,鈥� he says.
Turlings鈥檚 team is now looking into creating super-resistant maize by inserting the gene for caryophyllene into plants that are already engineered to produce the Bt toxin against rootworms.
