Understanding the responses of invertebrate species to convention and new pesticide products at the system level

About the Project

Achieving sustainable agriculture while maintaining food security is challenging because traditional chemical pesticides face rising resistance issues and concerns about unintended effects on non-target species. New biopesticides, particularly short interfering RNA (siRNA-) and peptides, offer a promising alternative to chemical pesticides, with the potential to be more targeted and to have lower environmental impact.

Outside Europe, several sprayable biopesticides using siRNA or peptides are being developed. If they are to offer a more sustainable alternative to chemicals, then we need to understand the environmental impacts of these new products. UK and EU pesticide management systems are not yet equipped to assess the environmental safety of these biopesticides. Addressing this gap is essential to safe use.

This PhD will address the safety of new biopesticides for sustainable pest management. Working at UKCEH in Wallingford and Cardiff University, your research will detect the target and off-target effect of dsRNA and peptide pesticides on invertebrate species. The objectives of the project will be:

Measure the tissue specific expression changes linked to dsRNA and peptide pesticide exposure in target and non-target invertebrate species
Conduct additional sensitivity studies in related species to identify whether target specific effects are also found in other species
Study of the time course of response of target site, off target sites and immune system markers in selected target and non-target species using immune biomarker and RNAseq methods.

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