A graduate student in a doctoral program at CNU has developed a new target protein that can selectively control aphids.

Park Woo-ram, a doctoral student in the Division of Food Technology, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry (Research Advisor: Professor Kim Don-kyu) revealed the molecular mechanism where a nuclear hormone receptor ERR (estrogen-related receptor) protein regulates the fertility of aphids, and thus developed a new regulatory mechanism for selective control of aphids. The results of this study were published in Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, an international journal in the top 10% of entomology (Impact Factor: 3.827).

The nuclear hormone receptor is a tranx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-scriptional regulator that directly binds to the tranx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-scriptional regulatory site in the nucleus and regulates the expression of a target gene. Unlike other tranx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-scriptional regulatory factors, nuclear hormone receptors have a ligand binding site which enables selective control of aphids through ERR-specific regulation without harm to other insects.

Park found that in aphids, ERR regulates the gene expression of PFK (phosphofructokinase) and PK (pyruvate kinase), which are key regulatory enzymes for glycolysis and lead to population decrease by inhibiting the production of aphid offspring.

This research was conducted with the support of the Agricultural Advanced Core Technology Development Project governed by the Rural Development Administration.