Søren Bak says: “We need to find new ways to secure sustainable food production. EcoSap will contribute to this goal by learning from nature. Plants and insects have coexisted for millions of years, and plants have evolved a refined arsenal of chemical compounds to defend themselves against insect pests. The number of plant defence compounds vastly outcompetes the number of synthetic insecticides and, importantly, they comprise many more modes of action than synthetic pesticides have to target insect pests. My group has identified a class of compounds called saponins that can target insect species that are resistant to most synthetic insecticides. EcoSap will find out how these compounds work at the molecular level. To be of use for agriculture, we will explore how to obtain such saponins from biowaste sources and how to scale up their production. Finally, we will test these compounds against insect pests and non-target organisms to evaluate their potential as green solutions for insect pest management.”