Insects that feed on starch can find veritable feasts in corn, pea, and bean crops or warehouses. It is no coincidence that the ancestors of these commercial plants developed α-amylase (alpha-amylase) inhibitor proteins, which make the starch in their seeds indigestible to pests, keeping them from becoming serious threats. However, the domestication of wild plants by humans to increase productivity and digestibility may have reduced the presence of these inhibitors.
In an article published in the Biotechnology Journal, an international group of researchers discusses the advances made in the last two decades and emphasizes the potential of gene editing to develop plants that produce these inhibitors in greater quantities to combat insect pests.
“Gene editing using the technique known as CRISPR … and its variations gives us the possibility of increasing the production of these inhibitors or making them more active in plants of interest to act specifically against insect pests, without the molecules being a problem for humans and animals,” [said Marcos Fernando Basso, a researcher at the Genomics for Climate Change Research Center (GCCRC)].
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