Current Research (PhD Thesis):
Molecular evolution and ecology of plant secondary metabolite detoxification in Heliothine moths
The Heliothine moth family is a major crop plant pest lineage. Two main pest species are the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera and the tobacco budworm Heliothis virescens that are both feeding on a wide range of plant species. The major defense compound of one of the main host plants, cotton, is gossypol, a sesquiterpene that is toxic to most organisms. I want to investigate the mechanisms that enable both species to feed on several toxic secondary metabolites, with a focus on gossypol containing plants. Preliminary data shows involvement of known detoxifying enzyme families such as cytochrome P450s and glutathione-S transferases (GST). Genomic comparisons of both moth species as well as heterologous expression of already identified candidate genes and subsequent metabolism and feeding studies are planned.
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