Olivia Bertuca

Hello! My name is Olivia Bertuca and I am a senior at the University of Arizona majoring in biochemistry. I am currently in Dr. Judith Brown’s laboratory in the Department of Plant Sciences studying RNA interference and gene knockdown in the potato psyllid. The potato psyllid is a pest that transmits the pathogen ‘Candidatus’ Liberibacter solanacearum to tomatoes, potatoes and other crops. This pathogen causes incurable and devastating disease in crops that causes massive yield loss. Currently, synthetic pesticides are being used to control the spread, which are costly and unsafe for the surrounding environment, so biopesticides utilizing RNA interference…