Aashaq Hussain Bhat

Research interests

Engineering the new generation of biological control agents against agricultural pests

Crop productivity is reduced by more than 40% due to insect infestations. Current pest control strategies heavily rely on toxic chemical pesticides. Pesticides are harmful to animals, humans, and the environment, and their effectiveness is reduced when pests acquire resistance. The use of biological control agents is a more promising alternative. In this context, insect pathogenic microorganisms are of central importance due to their capacity to kill insect pests. Out of the several insect pathogenic microorganisms, Photorhabdus bacteria stand out due to their enormous capacity to produce diverse insecticide molecules. My project aims to investigate the factors that limit the production of these molecules to be able to select Photorhabdus bacteria with greater insecticidal capacities. My work will therefore contribute to the current global efforts to generate efficient biological control agents to combat agricultural pests in an ecosystem-friendly manner.