Post by Ömür Baysal

I am glad to share our latest research on a smart, eco-friendly solution to one of global agriculture's most destructive pests: the tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta). 🍅🐛  These are the latest findings from our lab, driven by the great work of Yasemin Ispirli, Ahmet Can, Mehmet KECECI, Saliha S. Sahin and sümeray ezgi ayan at the end of 3 years. By developing a stimuli-responsive, controlled-release nanobiopesticide system, we heterologously expressed a 61.1 kDa chitinase (GBS19_ChiA) from a novel Serratia marcescens strain and immobilized it onto starch-coated silica nanoparticles. The results were highly encouraging—nanocarrier immobilization dramatically enhanced the enzyme's environmental stability (retaining 85% activity over 10 weeks) and successfully boosted larval mortality from 21.9% to 59.4%. Furthermore, by integrating genomic profiling with R-based kinetic modeling, we mapped out the intense "race against the clock" between enzymatic cuticular degradation and the rapid leaf-mining behavior of the larvae. Our findings prove that while nanotechnology effectively solves field stability challenges, beating the 2.5-hour mining window ultimately requires a multi-enzyme or whole-cell synergistic weapon.  Our project was supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TUBİTAK) Check out the full study for insights into the future of targeted, bio-based crop protection! 🚀 👇 https://lnkd.in/dPr4WYXk #AgTech #Nanotechnology #Biopesticides #SustainableAgriculture #CropProtection #GenomicModeling #Tubitak