Lepidext, Inc.

Among the Persisent and Long Terms Threats to Us Agriculture the Matter of Resistance Development in Pest Such as Insects, Weeds and Pathogens Ranks High. There Are Many Examples of Pesticides That Were Once Effective That Have Now Completely Lost Their Utility. While Any Pesticide That Is Widely and Repeatedly Used Places a Very Strong Selection Pressure on a Pest Population to Evolve Methods to Evade, Detoxify or Otherwise Escape Pesticide Pressure, Polyphagous Insects Such as the Corn Earworm, Helicoverpa Zea, Have Been Notable for Their Propensity to Develop Resistance. Entire Classes of Insecticides Can No Longer Be Used to Control This Pest. Perhaps the Most Worrisome Is the Relatively Rapid Development of Resistance of This Insect to the BT Toxins Expressed in Transgenic Plants. Because These Toxins Are Delivered via Plant Expression, H. Zea and Other Susceptible Insect Pests Are Persistently Exposed to Literally Millions of Acres of Toxin Across the Us and the Globe. Those Insects That Have Genetic Resistance and Can Survive Exposure to the Toxin Have a Marked Evolutionary Advantage That Drives Rapid Spread of Resistance Within Pest Populations. While Refugia Requirements Have Helped to Slow the Spread of Resistance It Is Increasingly Clear That New Methods to Combat Insect Resistance Are Desperately Needed. Lepidext Has Identified One Such Agent With Potential to Not Only Actively Suppress Populations of BT Resistant Pest Insects and Seeks Support Through This Proposal to Further Develop This Technology and Approach.