The main objective of the group is to control pest insects by using microbial insecticides based on the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis.
The group is working on three lines of research whose objectives are summarized below.
- Resistance to bioinsecticides
General objective: Study the potential of insects to develop resistance to the toxins of B. thuringiensis, as well as the biochemical and genetic bases of the bacterium.
- Development of new bioinsecticides
General objective: Finding strains and genes of B. thuringiensis for new forms of insecticides.
- Development of insect-resistant plants
General objective: Application of genetic engineering to the development of insect-resistant plants.