A graduate student at Jeonbuk National University (JBNU), Se-jin Lee (Master's Program, Department of Agricultural Biology), received the Outstanding Paper Presentation Award from the Korean Society of Applied Entomology in recognition of the excellence of her microbial research aimed at effectively controlling pests that damage crops.

For this study, Ms. Lee investigated genetic characteristics related to spore production of a type of microorganism used in pest control, Beauveria bassian, and received high praise from the society.

Through this research, she identified genes related to spore formation present in Beauveria bassian, and it is expected to make a significant contribution to future, cost-effective spore production research for the development of microbial insecticides.

In particular, enabling the production and purchase of inexpensive yet effective microbial insecticides is expected to play an important role in increasing farm incomes and in producing safe agricultural products without the use of chemical pesticides.

Se-jin Lee said, "Although the entomopathogen Beauveria bassian is used in integrated pest management, the characteristics of individual genes have not been elucidated, which has limited its use. Now that changes in the number of Beauveria bassian spores have been confirmed in this study, continued research could lead to the development of effective microbial insecticides."