UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Research on the chemical relationships between plants and insects by a Penn State entomologist has earned her a 2002 David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship for Science and Engineering.

Consuelo De Moraes, assistant professor of entomology, is the first entomologist -- and the first faculty member in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences -- to win the prestigious honor. De Moraes will receive a personal research grant of $625,000 from the Packard Foundation, to be allocated over a five-year period. Each year, the foundation selects up to 20 of the nation's most promising university professors to receive the award. De Moraes was chosen last year by Penn State President Graham Spanier to be one of the two professors nominated from Penn State.

De Moraes' research focuses on the chemical communication of plants and the defensive responses of plants to insect feeding. When attacked by insect pests, plants release complex blends of airborne chemicals with odor molecules that can be interpreted by insects as warning messages, distress signals and invitations. According to De Moraes, they are also important location cues for other insects that are natural enemies of the pests.

"I discovered that these chemical signals are keyed to individual pests and that natural enemies of the pests, such as parasitic wasps, exploit the signals to locate them," says De Moraes. "Subsequently, I found that these signals differ from day to night and that pest female moths utilize nighttime signals when choosing plants on which to lay eggs."

The discovery that plants produce information-rich chemical signals in response to specific environmental stimuli holds potential for technological advances in both agriculture and environmental sensing. De Moraes' continued research may someday be applied to the development of new agricultural techniques and crop varieties that could enhance plant resistance to pests.

De Moraes received her bachelor's degree in ecology in 1992 from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil. In 1998, she earned a doctoral degree in entomology from the University of Georgia. She joined Penn State's department of entomology in 2001.

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EDITORS: Consuelo De Moraes can be reached at 814-863-2867.

Contact:

Amanda Yeager aby104@psu.edu 814-865-3636 814-863-9877 fax

Chuck Gill cdg5@psu.edu 814-863-2713 814-863-9877 fax #129