Cotton-Picking Caterpillars

Caterpillars in cotton plants

The face of Queensland's multi-million dollar cotton industry could be about to change thanks to pioneering work by a University of Queensland scientist.

Professor David Craik, from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), has discovered a protein that, if inserted into a cotton plant's gene, could protect it from the insatiable and highly destructive appetite of the Helicoverpa family of caterpillars.

Annually, the bugs eat their way through hundreds of tonnes of cotton, destroying not only the plants but the incomes of cotton growers. A natural insecticide, such as the one being developed by Professor Craik, would prove a boon for these farmers.

"Potentially the caterpillars can destroy 10 to 15 per cent of the crop so the damage it does is enormous," Professor Craik said. "Such a gene, if inserted into the cotton, could prove a highly effective and natural insecticide, removing the need to use the chemical sprays."

The agricultural applications of the protein have led to the establishment of a company, Cyclagen, whose focu is now extending beyond its insecticide potential. Because the protein is resistant to attack from digestive enzymes in the body, it can be used as a framework for developing drugs that can be taken orally instead of being injected.

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