SBIR Phase I: Novel Attractants to Control the Spotted Wing Fruit Fly, Drosophila suzukii

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop novel attractants for the spotted wing fruit fly, Drosophila suzukii. D. suzukii is an invasive insect pest endemic to South East Asia that targets a variety of economically important soft-fruit crops, thus posing a serious threat to US agriculture. The pest's range is rapidly expanding and traditional control methods, such as pesticide treatment, are problematic. An effective bait-and-kill device would offer specific advantages by avoiding the wide dispersal of broad-range insecticides and protecting the environment, beneficial species, and organic farms in the area. However, this device depends on the availability of effective attractants, the focus of this proposal. This project incorporates several novel platform technologies comprising a high throughput assay system for rapidly identifying molecules that interact with insect chemosensory proteins. These molecules have the potential to affect D. suzukii behavior, and, once identified, they will be subsequently evaluated for behavioral effects on living flies. Thus, the project will result in lead molecules for a next-generation, effective D. suzukii attractant formulation useful in trapping and population control. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project, if successful, will be the development of a platform technology applicable to rapidly generating novel control products for insect pest species of economic, agricultural, or medicinal significance. No specific D. suzukii attractant currently exists; bait-and-kill devices for D. suzukii would allow a shift away from the widespread spraying of insecticides to a more targeted, responsible control methodology utilizing efficient bait-and-kill stations. A device utilizing an effective attractant would benefit the US agriculture industry since it would allow safe and effective D. suzukii control. Moreover, the platform technologies utilized herein have broader commercial impacts, as they are directly applicable to the control of other insect pest species.