Scientists find genes involved in the battle between Hessian flies and wheat

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No larger than a pencil point this shaft of wheat grown in a Purdue greenhouse is infested with Hessian fly larvae. The darker puparium is an advanced stage from which an adult fly will emerge. Credit: Purdue Agricultural Communication photoTom Campb ...
No larger than a pencil point, this shaft of wheat grown in a Purdue greenhouse is infested with Hessian fly larvae. The darker puparium is an advanced stage, from which an adult fly will emerge. Credit: Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell

Wheat has ways to battle the tiny, red wormlike insects that nibble on the plant's leaves and can destroy crops worldwide, but the Hessian fly larvae that survive eventually evolve methods to overcome plant defenses.


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