Various beetle species have gobbled through caryopsis stores and step down food production worldwide since ancient time . Now , researchers at the University of Copenhagen have notice a better way of direct and eliminating these teeny pests . Instead of using toxic pesticide that hurt biodiversity , the environment , and human health , the researchers search to work beetles ’ greatest strength against them — their precisely regulated mechanism of balancing fluid .
Up to 25 per centum of global intellectual nourishment production is lose annually due to insects , primarily beetles . For the past 500 million years , beetles have successfully distribute and adapted to lifespan around the globe and now calculate for one of every five animal species on Earth . Yet as far back as ancient Egypt , these ruffianly short hemipteron have invaded garner and vexed humans by destroying crops .
straw weevils , disjointed flour beetle , Colorado potato beetle and other types of beetle and insects make their ways into up to 25 percent of the global food supplying . Photo : Getty
As a event , food production and abundant utilization of pesticide now go hand in handwriting . A large share of these pesticides damage biodiversity , the environment , and human wellness . As various pesticides are phased out , new solutions are required to target and extirpate pests without harm humans or good insects like bees .
This is precisely what researchers from the University of Copenhagen ’s Department of Biology are working on . As part of a broader attempt to develop more “ ecologic ” methods of combatting harmful insects in the skinny future , researchers have discovered which hormones baffle urine formation in the kidneys of beetles .
“ sleep with which endocrine regulate piss formation open up up the development of compound similar to overhang internal secretion that , for model , can do mallet to form so much urine that they die of dehydration , ” explains Associate Professor Kenneth Veland Halberg of the University of Copenhagen ’s Department of Biology . He adds :
“ While it may seem slightly vicious , there ’s nothing new in us essay to shell pestis that destroy food for thought production . We ’re simply attempt to do it in a impudent , more targeted manner that drive the surrounding environment into greater chronicle than traditional pesticide . ”
Ancient Egyptians weaken beetle ’ water supply balance using stonesThe young study , as well as a previous study , also conducted by Kenneth Veland Halberg , demonstrates that mallet solve the job of influence their water and salt balance in a fundamentally different way than other insects . This difference in insect biological science is an important detail when attempt to combat sure species while go away their neighbour alone .
“ Today ’s insecticides go in and paralyze an insect ’s nervous system . The problem with this approaching is that insect nervous systems are quite similar across metal money . Using these insect powder leave to the killing of bees and other beneficial field insect , and harms other living organism , ” explain Kenneth Veland Halberg .
The centrality to survival of the carefully controlled water balance of beetle is no confidential . In fact , ancient Egyptians already lie with to mix pebbles in grain store to fight these pest . endocarp scratched away the waxy outer stratum of beetle ’ exoskeleton which serves to minimize mobile evaporation .
“ Never mind that they chip an episodic tooth on the pebble , the Egyptians could see that the scar killed some of the beetles due to the fluid expiration do by damage to the waxy layer . However , they lacked the physiological knowledge that we have now , ” says Kenneth Veland Halberg .
One - hundred billion dollar of pesticides used worldwidePesticides have replaced pebbles . And , their global use is now value at about 100 billion dollar bill annually . But as rules for pesticide use become strict , Fannie Merritt Farmer are leave with fewer options to fight pestilence .
“ The motivator to originate compounds which direct and eradicate pests is immense . intellectual nourishment output is critically pendent on pesticides . In Europe alone , it is estimated that food production would decline by 50 percent without pesticide use . With just a single , more targeted product on the market , there would almost immediately be Brobdingnagian gains for both wildlife and humans , ” states Kenneth Veland Halberg .
But the development of new compounds to combat beetles need , among other things , that pharmacist design a new molecule that resembles mallet hormones . At the same time , this compound must be able to enter beetle , either through their exoskeletons or by their feeding upon it .
“ Understanding piddle formation in beetle is an of import step in grow more targeted and environmentally - favorable pest dominance for the future . We are now in the process of involving protein interpersonal chemistry specialists who can facilitate us design an stilted insect hormone . But there is still a fair bit of work ahead before any new form of pest command sees the light of day , ” concludes Associate Professor Kenneth Veland Halberg .
interpret the complete enquiry atwww.pnas.org .
For more information : University of Copenhagenwww.news.ku.dk
