Insect damage to crops is a serious problem for farmers, consumers, and the economy at large. Genetic modification to common crops (like corn) has significantly reduced damage caused by insects that feed off plant leaves, but it has its limitations. One of these limitations is sap-sucking insects, which aren’t affected by the plants’ engineered insecticide.

However, a recent paper in Nature Biotechnology describes cotton that has been genetically modified with an insecticidal protein found in ferns, which might be a safe solution to this issue.

Whiteflies are insects that damage plants by sucking out their sap, which can cause wilting, defoliation, and stunted growth. Whiteflies also spread viral and fungal infections, which further harm crop yield. Cotton farmers don’t currently have an effective insecticide that targets these problematic whiteflies. A recent reduction in the use of pesticides among cotton farmers has caused an increase in whitefly-related damage, and the authors of this paper aim to alleviate that damage.