icipe research earns global recognition

A peer reviewed article entitled “Identification of the Ubiquitous Antioxidant Tripeptide Glutathione as a Fruit Fly Semiochemical”, published by icipe researchers in October 2017, has been selected for the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Research Article of the Year Award (AGRO Division).

The paper presents findings from icipe research on host marking behaviour of fruit flies, which enables certain species to deposit a chemical (pheromone) to indicate fruits where they have already laid eggs, thereby pre-empting repeated egg-laying on the same fruit.

Knowledge on this specific chemical, commonly known as a ‘host marking pheromone’, is useful in the control of species that exhibit such phenomena. For instance, if a product containing such host marking pheromone (s) is sprayed onto fruits, it could deter and prevent some fruit flies from laying eggs on them. 

The icipe studies identified glutathione, an anti-oxidant of most living organisms,as a host marking pheromone of Ceratitis cosyra fruit fly species. Through laboratory evaluations, the scientists confirmed glutathione’s ability to reduce egg laying in C. cosyra, C. rosa, C. fasciventris, C. capitata, as well as the invasive Zeugodacus cucurbitae. Therefore, glutathione can be exploited to develop tools for fruit fly management.

The paper reporting these results was used by the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (in which it appeared), as its website’s homepage banner in October 2017.

In honor of the latest award, Prof. Baldwyn Torto, the icipe lead scientist of this research, has been invited to give a lecture on the topic of host marking behaviour and pheromone production in African fruit flies at the 256 th ACS National Meeting, which takes place August 19-23, 2018, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He will be recognized with a plaque and a single prize on behalf of the icipe team which carried out this research.