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Article: New defense against Hessian fly may lie in insect's saliva.
- Article from:
- M2 Presswire
- Article date:
- October 17, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Normans Media Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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M2 PRESSWIRE-17 October 2003-US ARS: New defense against Hessian fly may lie in insect's saliva(C)1994-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD
RDATE:10172003
Imagine this scene: The larva of a Hessian fly bites into the tender leaf of a wheat plant. In its saliva are substances poisonous to the plant, causing stunted growth and even death. But this time, endowed with unique resistance genes that act like an alarm system, the wheat is able to detect the intruder and deploy a fighting response.
Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service and Kansas State University (KSU) aim to give wheat this defensive edge by understanding its enemy's offensive ...