Effective virus management in grain crops (C3)

Insects lack the ability to synthesise sterols that are essential for their cellular structure and hormone synthesis. As such, insects require a dietary source of sterol and herbivorous pests, such as aphids, rely on sterols from plants. However, only a small group of plant sterols can be utilized by insects. Thus, a novel way to manage plant-feeding insects, is to modify the plant sterol profile to contain a significant pool of atypical sterols that are unsuitable for insects. This project aims to generate sterol-modified canola by employing biological tools, to hinder the aphid growth and survival, and to reduce the virus transmission through aphid vectors. The canola lines screened and generated in this project could potentially provide an effective and sustainable alternative to protect canola plants from pest insects and insects-transmitted viral diseases.