Chemistry Weekly Seminar-Krista Gill, Research Scientist

Title

Microbial natural products and their role in benefitting Canadian Agriculture

Abstract

There continues to be a need for the development of new active ingredients (AI) to control emerging crop pests, pests that affect new crops, overcome the development of pesticide resistant pest populations and fill gaps left by de-registration of actives. There is particularly a need for new first in class AIs with novel modes of action to address these challenges. Historically, natural products have played an important role in the discovery of novel active ingredients. Approximately 20% of all active ingredients in commercially available crop products are natural products, derivatives or mimics. This impact becomes even more significant when considering novel first in class ingredients. In order to identify novel active ingredient candidates, our lab group focuses on investigating beneficial soil and endophytic bacteria and fungi to identify microbial secondary metabolites that are able to inhibit the growth of crop pathogens. Recent efforts focusing on controlling pathogens will be presented.