作为微小蠕虫的线虫,在动物王国中经常落入被忽略的角落。尽管线虫当中很多是寄生的,意味着它们生活在其他生物有机体里,但也有助于控制人体疾病、杀死破坏农作物的昆虫。线虫的这些“良好品质”吸引了美国加利福尼亚大学河滨校区助理教授Adler Dillman的关注。近日他和几位合作者在《PLOS病原体》上发表了论文,称线虫分泌致命蛋白质混合物,来杀死许多破坏农作物的昆虫。这一研究 Nematodes, as tiny worms, often fall into overlooked corners in animal kingdoms. Although many of the nematodes are parasitic, meaning they live in other living organisms, they also help control human diseases and kill insects that destroy crops. These “good qualities” of nematodes have attracted the attention of Adler Dillman, an assistant professor at the University of California Riverside campus. Recently he and several collaborators published a paper on PLOS Pathogens saying nematodes secrete a deadly protein mixture that kills many insect-damaging crops. This research