Staff profile

Research Interests

Crop protection against insect attack is increasingly threatened by the withdrawal of chemical pesticides from the market, a shortage of new actives, and the widespread development of multiple forms of resistance.  I believe that the development of biopesticides derived from natural sources is key to reducing the adverse effects of chemical pesticides upon human health, ecosystems, and biodiversity.  My principal research interests lie in the development of novel protein-based approaches for the control of insect pests. Many naturally occurring venom peptides are highly potent to invertebrate pests when injected, but ineffective when delivered orally as their targets for action lie within the central nervous system (CNS). Our group has pioneered the development of an innovative delivery platform that converts insecticidal peptides into orally and topically effective biopesticides. Fusion protein technology exploits the ability of a “carrier” protein to transport fused toxins across the insect gut and thereby “deliver” them to the circulatory system where they can access target sites of action within the nervous system. The carrier also binds to the insect CNS and recent studies have demonstrated significantly enhanced contact activity of fusion proteins as compared to toxins alone.  Research in our lab focusses on the use of A.I. to design fusion protein expression constructs, and subsequently to produce recombinant toxins and fusion protein prototypes using a yeast-based bench-top fermentation system. We also carry out a range of lab-based insect bioassays to evaluate the efficacy of our FPs against both pest and beneficial insects.  We are currently working with industry to drive the commercialisation of this approach.

I have also been involved for > 12 years in various research projects that have explored the potential use of insects as a source of nutrition for feed and food, and as a means of reducing volumes of waste in line with a circular bioeconomy approach.  Insect farming is an expanding industry offering opportunities to both enhance the sustainability of livestock production and to support crop and soil health via the application of residues that remain from the insect rearing process as biofertilisers.

Chapter in book

• Bjone, H., & Fitches, E. (2021). Which Insect Species and Why?. In H. Hall, E. Fitches, & R. Smith (Eds.), Insects as animal feed: novel ingredients for use in pet, aquaculture and livestock diets. CAB International. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781789245929.0002
• Fitches, E. C., & Smith, R. (2018). PROteINSECT: Insects as a Sustainable Source of Protein. In A. Halloran, R. Flore, P. Vantomme, & N. Roos (Eds.), Edible insects in sustainable food systems (421-435). (New ed.). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74011-9_26
• Kenis, M., Bouwassi, B., Boafo, H., Devic, E., Han, R., Koko, G., …Fitches, E. (2018). Small-Scale Fly Larvae Production for Animal Feed. In A. Halloran, R. Flore, N. Roos, & P. Vantomme (Eds.), Edible Insects in Sustainable Food Systems (239-261). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74011-9_15

Edited book

• Hall, H., Fitches, E., & Smith, R. (Eds.). (2021). Insects as animal feed: novel ingredients for use in pet, aquaculture and livestock diets. CAB International. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781789245929.0000

Journal Article

• Miranda, M. P., Fitches, E. C., Sukiran, N. A., Eduardo, W. I., Garcia, R. B., Jaciani, F. J., …Peña, L. (2024). Spider venom neurotoxin based bioinsecticides: A novel bioactive for the control of the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera). Toxicon: An Interdisciplinary Journal on the Toxins Derived from Animals, Plants and Microorganisms, 239, Article 107616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2024.107616
• Sukiran, N. A., Pyati, P., Willis, C. E., Brown, A. P., Readshaw, J. J., & Fitches, E. C. (2023). Enhancing the oral and topical insecticidal efficacy of a commercialized spider venom peptide biopesticide via fusion to the carrier snowdrop lectin (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin). Pest Management Science, 79(1), 284-294. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.7198
• De-Thier, J. S., Pyati, P., Bell, J., Readshaw, J. J., Brown, A. P., & Fitches, E. C. (2023). Heterologous production of the insecticidal pea seed albumin PA1 protein by Pichia pastoris and protein engineering to potentiate aphicidal activity via fusion to snowdrop lectin Galanthus nivalis agglutinin; GNA). Microbial Cell Factories, 22(1), Article 157. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-023-02176-1
• Bell, J., Sukiran, N. A., Walsh, S., & Fitches, E. C. (2021). The insecticidal activity of recombinant nemertide toxin α-1 from Lineus longissimus towards pests and beneficial species. Toxicon: An Interdisciplinary Journal on the Toxins Derived from Animals, Plants and Microorganisms, 197, 79-86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2021.04.003
• Martínez-Alarcón, D., Varrot, A., Fitches, E., Gatehouse, J. A., Cao, M., Pyati, P., …Garcia-Gasca, T. (2020). Recombinant Lectin from Tepary Bean (Phaseolus acutifolius) with Specific Recognition for Cancer-Associated Glycans: Production, Structural Characterization, and Target Identification. Biomolecules, 10(4), Article 654. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom10040654
• Roffeis, M., Fitches, E. C., Wakefield, M. E., Almeida, J., Alves Valada, T. R., Devic, E., …Muys, B. (2020). Ex-ante life cycle impact assessment of insect based feed production in West Africa. Agricultural Systems, 178, Article 102710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2019.102710
• Powell, M., Bradish, H., Cao, M., Makinson, R., Brown, A., Gatehouse, J., & Fitches, E. (2020). Demonstrating the potential of a novel spider venom based biopesticide for target-specific control of the small hive beetle, a serious pest of the European honey bee. Journal of Pest Science, 93(1), 391-402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-019-01143-3
• Roffeis, M., Wakefield, M. E., Almeida, J., Alves Valada, T. R., Devic, E., Koné, N., …Muys, B. (2018). Life cycle cost assessment of insect based feed production in West Africa. Journal of Cleaner Production, 199, 792-806. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.07.179
• Fitches, E., Dickinson, M., De Marzo, D., Wakefield, M., Charlton, A., & Hall, H. (2018). Alternative protein production for animal feed: Musca domestica productivity on poultry litter and nutritional quality of processed larval meals. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, 5(2), 77-88. https://doi.org/10.3920/jiff2017.0061
• Srivastava, A. K., Orosa, B., Singh, P., Cummins, I., Walsh, C., Zhang, C., …Sadanandom, A. (2018). SUMO Suppresses the Activity of the Jasmonic Acid Receptor CORONATINE INSENSITIVE1. The Plant Cell, 30(9), 2099-2115. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00036
• Cao, M., Gatehouse, J., & Fitches, E. (2018). A Systematic Study of RNAi Effects and dsRNA Stability in Tribolium castaneum and Acyrthosiphon pisum, Following Injection and Ingestion of Analogous dsRNAs. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(4), Article 1079. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19041079
• Hall, H., Masey O’Neill, H., Scholey, D., Burton, E., Dickinson, M., & Fitches, E. (2018). Amino acid digestibility of larval meal (Musca domestica) for broiler chickens. Poultry Science, 97(4), 1290-1297. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps/pex433
• Powell, M., Pyati, P., Cao, M., Bell, H., Gatehouse, J. A., & Fitches, E. (2017). Insecticidal effects of dsRNA targeting the Diap1 gene in dipteran pests. Scientific Reports, 7(1), Article 15147. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15534-y
• Roffeis, M., Almeida, J., Wakefield, M., Valada, T., Devic, E., Koné, N., …Muys, B. (2017). Life Cycle Inventory Analysis of Prospective Insect Based Feed Production in West Africa. Sustainability, 9(10), Article 1697. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101697
• Powell, M., Bradish, H., Gatehouse, J., & Fitches, E. (2017). Systemic RNAi in the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida Murray, Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), a serious pest of the European honey bee (Apis mellifera). Pest Management Science, 73(1), 53-63. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.4365
• Yang, S., Fitches, E., Pyati, P., & Gatehouse, J. (2015). Effect of insecticidal fusion proteins containing spider toxins targeting sodium and calcium ion channels on pyrethroid-resistant strains of peach-potato aphid (Myzus persicae). Pest Management Science, 71(7), 951-956. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.3872
• Pyati, P., Fitches, E., & Gatehouse, J. (2014). Optimising expression of the recombinant fusion protein biopesticide ω-hexatoxin-Hv1a /GNA in Pichia pastoris: Sequence modifications and a simple method for the generation of multi-copy strains. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, 41(8), 1237-1247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-014-1466-8
• Nakasu, Y., Williamson, S., Edwards, M., Fitches, E., Gatehouse, J., Wright, G., & Gatehouse, A. (2014). Novel biopesticide based on a spider venom peptide shows no adverse effects on honeybees. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281(1787), Article 20140619. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0619
• Yang, S., Pyati, P., Fitches, E., & Gatehouse, J. (2014). A recombinant fusion protein containing a spider toxin specific for the insect voltage-gated sodium ion channel shows oral toxicity towards insects of different orders. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 47, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2014.01.007
• Fitches, E., Pyati, P., King, G., & Gatehouse, J. (2012). Fusion to snowdrop lectin magnifies the oral activity of insecticidal omega-Hexatoxin-Hv1a peptide by enabling its delivery to the central nervous system. PLoS ONE, 7(6), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0039389
• Wakefield, M., Fitches, E., Bell, H., & Gatehouse, A. (2010). The snowdrop lectin Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA) and a fusion protein ButaIT/GNA have a differential affect on a pest noctuid Lacanobia oleracea and the ectoparasitoid Eulophus pennicornis. Physiological Entomology, 35(4), 334-342. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3032.2010.00753.x
• Wakefield, M., Bell, H., Fitches, E., Edwards, J., & Gatehouse, A. (2006). Effects of Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA) expressed in tomato leaves on larvae of the tomato moth Lacanobia oleracea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and the effect of GNA on the development of the endoparasitoid Meteorus gyrator (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research, 96(01), 43-52. https://doi.org/10.1079/ber2005396
• Down, R., Fitches, E., Wiles, D., Corti, P., Bell, H., Gatehouse, J., & Edwards, J. (2005). Insecticidal spider venom toxin fused to snowdrop lectin is toxic to the peach potato aphid Myzus persicae (Hemipteran: Aphidadae) and the rice brown plant hopper Nilarparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphicidae). Pest Management Science, 62(1), 77-85. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.1119
• Fitches, E., Edwards, M., Mee, C., Grishin, E., Gatehouse, A., Edwards, J., & Gatehouse, J. (2004). Fusion proteins containing insect-specific toxins as pest control agents: snowdrop lectin delivers fused insecticidal spider venom toxinto insect haemolymph following oral ingestion. Journal of Insect Physiology, 50(1), 61-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2003.09.010
• Bell, H., Down, R., Fitches, E., Edwards, J., & Gatehouse, J. (2003). Impact of genetically modified potato expressing plant-derived insecticidal proteins/insect resistance genes on the predatory bug Podisus maculiventris (Say). Biocontrol Science and Technology, 13(8), 729-741. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583150310001606543
• Fitches, E., Woodhouse, S., Edwards, J., & Gatehouse, J. (2001). In vitro and in vivo binding of snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin;GNA) and jackbean (Canavalia ensiformis; Con A) lectins within tomatomoth (Lacanobia oleracea) larvae; mechanisms of insecticidal action. Journal of Insect Physiology, 47(7), 777-787. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-1910%2801%2900068-3

Presentation

• Fitches, E., Hermans, D., Dickinson, M., Charlton, A., Wakefield, M., Kenis, M., …Bruggeman, G. (2017, October). Insects as sustainable feed ingredients: Case study: Assessing the performance of broilers fed on diets containing crude and processed housefly larval meal. Paper presented at Poultry Beyond 2023 : 6th International Broiler Nutritionists' Conference., Queenstown, New Zealand