National Research Development Corporation

Technology offer

Spinosad Biopesticide
The Know how offers a novel process of production of Spinosad from the strains of Aspergillus sps fungus isolated from soil and biologically pure culture of fungal strain for use in the process. Earlier studies have reported that Spinosad was identified only from the prokaryote Saccharopolyspora spinosa and no other organism was capable of producing this molecule. However, for the first time the existence of Spinosad in fungal secondary metabolite, indicating a first eukaryotic organism involved in the Spinosad biosynthesis. Most of the pesticides known so far are chemically synthesized, which are not eco-friendly. The present Aspergillus sps. technology is about production of a Spinosad biopesticide from a fungal origin unlike the earlier available compound of bacterial origin. Spinosad is a naturally occurring mixture of spinosyn A and spinosyn D that exhibit potent insecticidal activities and has successfully established its utility for crop protective applications in the agrochemical field in many countries including India. The present invention provides a method of cultivating submerged cultures of one or more Aspergillus strains having the trait to produce one or more substances having spinosyn activity. The use of the nutrient media of the invention, comprising a saccharide, an organic or mineral source of nitrogen and a variety of salts, is especially suited to enhance the production of spinosyns. The technology also provides a method to concentrate the spinosyn compound mainly in the mycelium thus enabling the simple separation of biomass from the fermentation broth, thereby requiring no further extraction, concentration, purification or complex separation procedures. The simple separation of the Aspergillus biomass from the culture broth of the present invention is followed by the drying of the final spinosyn product at optimum temperature. The process is efficient, fast and economical and the novel Spinosyn producing strains are safe to handle in the laboratory and in commercial scale fermentations. Spinosad acts as a stomach and contact poison and degrades rapidly in the environment. Spinosad has a high level of efficacy for Lepidopteran larvae, as well as some Diptera, Coleoptera, Thysanoptera and Hymenoptera, but has limited to no activity to other insects and exhibits low toxicity to mammals and other wildlife. Spinosad is known to act against injurious insects in a variety of crops, such as cotton, wheat and tobacco. It has shown activity against Lepidoptera, Thysanoptera, and other insect

orders such as Diptera. This naturally derived insecticide has been reported to have no adverse effects on predatory insects.

For Further Details Kindly Contact:

Dr. Ashish Kumar Srivastava Scientific Officer National Research Development Corporation (An Enterprise of DSIR, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India) 20-22, Zamroodpur Community Centre, Kailash Colony Extension, New Delhi: 110048 EPABX : +91-11-29240401-08 Extn. 219 Fax : +91-11-29242409-10 Mobile : +91-11-9818995833 Skype : asrivastava.nrdc E-mail : asrivastava@nrdc.in; asrivastava.nrdc@gmail.com Website : http://www.nrdcindia.com