The beet armyworm is a destructive crop pest Nigel Cattlin / naturepl.com
Deleting a gene linked to the production of sex pheromones in the beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua) causes females to lose their attractiveness to males, offering a new potential route to control the species, considered one of the world’s worst agricultural pests.
Shabbir Ahmed at Andong National University in South Korea and his colleagues used the CRISPR genome-editing technology to delete the gene SexiDES5 in caterpillars of the moth, which feed on a wide range of crops such as vegetables, cotton and flowers. …
