Professor John Pickett - University of Cardiff

Professor John Pickett

Earlier successes in identifying, at vanishingly low concentrations, sex related pheromones of insect vectors of plant and human pathogens is now refined and applied to more diverse interactions involving chemical signalling. The rational deorphanizing of olfactory neurons via precise dose response studies invites wider neurophysiological targets. The use of promiscuous enzymes from extremophiles for more specific targets reduces production costs even in providing stereochemical purity. Selection of resistance traits against the signalling chemistry by vectors and other pests can be overcome sustainably by exploiting the nature of the resistance mechanism in ways potentially available to a much wider range of bioactive molecules. Evidence of these developments will be presented and discussed in the context of moving towards sustainable food production and human health.