Project Number: 1245-21220-230-01
Project Type: Nonfunded Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Oct 01, 2009
End Date: Sep 30, 2013

Objective:
The main objective is to devise root maggot control strategies by genetically engineering sugar beet for production of recombinant proteinase inhibitor proteins that target the digestive proteases of the sugar beet root maggot, a major pest of sugar beet.

Approach:
Several proteinase inhibitor genes cloned from sugar beet or from tobacco will be introduced into sugar beet hairy root cultures and used in insect bioassays to characterize the functional role of these genes in pest resistance.