Young researchers from the Bio-Top scientific club, operating at the Faculty of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Technology, are working on new, ecological methods of crop protection. They are researching how the natural enemies of pests, i.e. insecticidal fungi protect plants.
The research of Wrocław students is part of the strategy of integrated pest management, i.e. IPM – integrated pest management. One of its elements is the use of natural enemies of plant pests, i.e. nematodes, fungal bacteria, which can be specialized pathogens attacking only weakened individuals.
Young researchers conducted a preliminary selection of the culture conditions for two strains. They managed to isolate and identify a compound with antibiotic activity and inhibiting the growth of cancer cells. They also obtained an extract that killed Galleria mellonella larvae within 15 minutes from the moment of injection.
