Blockers of Voltage-Dependent Chloride Channels as New Nematicides
PI(s): Bloomquist, Jeffrey R
Investigators: Boina, Dhana Raj
Abstract: The toxic and environmentally unfriendly compound, methyl bromide, is being phased out as a broad specrum nematicide by the EPA. Accordingly, alternatives are urgently needed to protect crops from nematode-induced root damage, and we are addressing this need by evaluating a number of compounds known to block chloride channels.
Description:
The toxic and environmentally unfriendly compound, methyl bromide, is being phased out as a broad specrum nematicide by the EPA. Thus, alternatives are urgently needed to protect crops fom nematode-induced root damage. The doctoral work of Raj Boina has found that blockage of anion transporters, especially voltage-dependent chloride channels, is toxic to both free living (C. elegans) and plant parasitic nematodes (M. incognita ), and may serve as an alternative to methyl bromide for nematode control. Many of the known chemical series that block voltage-dependent chloride channels, such as the stilbenes, are simple scaffolds quite amenable for chemical development. Accordingly, we filed a patent application to the U.S. patent and trademark office on stilbene compounds that have this effect, as well as anion transporters as a target for screening new nematicides. Ed Lewis collaborated with us on the initial stages of this work, and is a co-inventor on the patent. We have further identified additional chemical families of compounds having similar activity, and a provisional patent on these compounds has been filed, as well.
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Audiences: Agribusiness
