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With a projected increase in world population to 10 billion over the next four decades, an immediate priority for agriculture is to achievemaximum production of food and other products in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and cost effective. Whilst insecticides are very effective in combating the immediate problem of insect attack on crops, nonspecific insecticides are harmful to beneficial organisms including predators and parasitoids of the target pest species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear "run-on" (or "run-off") transcription assays have been used to obtain quantitative information about the relative rates of transcription of different genes in nuclei isolated from a particular tissue or organ. This information can then be used in analyzing the factors that control the expression of specific genes. These assays are complimentary to measurements of the levels of mRNA species present in particular tissues or organs by hybridization to specific nucleic acid probes (seeChapter 18). Hybridization assays give a measure of how much mRNA is present; this is termed a "steady-state" level, since it reflects the balance between mRNA synthesis and degradation (although, of course, the "steady-state" level itself can change with time), whereas transcription assays give a direct measure of the activity of genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]