Researchers decode genome of insect harmful to citrus

The Lake Okeechobee News in Florida highlighted an ambitious research project to unlock the genome of an insect that has devastated citrus growers.

Biologists with the University of Cincinnati collaborated with several other institutions on the project to study a sapsucking lice called the Asian citrus psyllid that feeds on citrus leaves. The insect spreads a bacterial infection called citrus greening disease that has caused billions of dollars in crop damage.

The disease has wiped out millions of acres of citrus trees in the United States and around the world. There is no known cure, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

UC partnered with Indian River State College, the Boyce Thompson Institution, Cornell University and Kansas State University.

By unlocking the genome of the insect, researchers hope to find more effective methods to control the spread of the insect.

Read the Lake Okeechobee News story.

Featured image at top: UC biology students contributed to a study unlocking the genome of an insect that has devastated the citrus crop. Photo/Utkarsh Patil