CABI

About: CABI is a nonprofit organization based out in Wallingford, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Introduced species. The organization has 789 authors who have published 1759 publications receiving 73843 citations. The organization is also known as: Centre for Biosciences and Agriculture International.

Culture collections over the world

Abstract: Culture collections have the crucial role of providing the authenticated biological material upon which high quality research is based. Importantly, they serve as repositories for strains as part of patent deposits, providers of safe and confidential services to store key organisms for research and industry, and sources of organisms cited in scientific papers that can be used in the confirmation of results and for further study. The demands upon culture collections change as new technologies and uses of organisms are discovered. Many are becoming Biological Resource Centres, as defined by the OECD Biological Resource Centre (BRC) Initiative, in that they operate according to international quality criteria, carry out essential research, enhance the value and applications of strains and provide a vital information resource. In a changing international scientific environment, many collections are under threat of extinction because of inadequate funding, changing government support strategies and the cost of new technologies. We are also suffering a decline in the number of biosystematists, who are needed to form a sound base for molecular technologies and to aid in identifying, and characterizing microbial diversity. In this environment, collections must work together to make the best use of new technologies and to contribute to the description of the 1.4 million fungi yet to be discovered. At the current rate, this will take 700 years. New technologies and novel ways of funding this task must be engaged and, above all, scientists must collaborate. Common policies are necessary to address the regulatory demands on collections, to control access to dangerous organisms, and, in particular, to enforce the Convention on Biological Diversity. Countries that hold the majority of biodiversity require support in building the facilities required to explore their hidden resource. The World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC) and, in Europe, the European Culture Collection Organisation (ECCO) have a key role to play. The world must benefit from its microbial diversity, which is crucial to solving increasing problems in food provision, public health and poverty alleviation.

Screening of entomopathogenic nematodes for virulence against the invasive western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Europe

Abstract: Entomopathogenic nematode species available in Europe were screened for their efficacy against both the root-feeding larvae and silk-feeding adults of the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte. Laboratory screening tests were aimed at the selection of candidate biological control agents for the management of this invasive alien pest in Europe. Steinernema glaseri, S. arenarium, S. abassi, S. bicornutum, S. feltiae, S. kraussei, S. carpocapsae and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora were studied to determine their virulence against third instar larvae and adults of D. v. virgifera in small-volume arenas (using nematode concentrations of 0.5, 0.8, 7.9 and 15.9 infective juveniles cm-2). All nematode species were able to invade and propagate in D. v. virgifera larvae, but adults were rarely infected. At concentrations of 7.9 and 15.9 cm-2, S. glaseri, S. arenarium, S. abassi and H. bacteriophora caused the highest larval mortality of up to 77%. Steinernema bicornutum, S. abassi, S. carpocapsae and H. bacteriophora appeared to have a high propagation level, producing 5970+/-779, 5595+/-811, 5341+/-1177 and 4039+/-1025 infective juveniles per larva, respectively. Steinernema glaseri, S. arenarium, S. feltiae, S. kraussei and H. bacteriophora were further screened at a concentration of 16.7 nematodes cm-2 against third instar larvae in medium-volume arenas (sand-filled trays with maize plants). Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, S. arenarium and S. feltiae caused the highest larval mortality with 77+/-16.6%, 67+/-3.5%, and 57+/-17.1%, respectively. In a next step, criteria for rating the entomopathogenic nematode species were applied based on results obtained for virulence and propagation, and for current production costs and availability in Europe. These criteria were then rated to determine the potential of the nematodes for further field testing. Results showed the highest potential in H. bacteriophora, followed by S. arenarium and S. feltiae, for further testing as candidate biological control agents.

Antibiotic use on crops in low and middle-income countries based on recommendations made by agricultural advisors

Abstract: Microbial resistance to medically important antibiotics is of international concern There is considerable attention paid to the medical and veterinary use of antibiotics but there is a paucity of data on their use in global crop production The only well documented use of antibiotics on crops is that on top fruit in the USA Due to the absence of other data it is generally assumed that this use comprises the bulk of antibiotics applied to plants The goal of this study was to investigate the scale and diversity of antibiotics being recommended for managing crop health problems in LMICs and the crops and types of problems for which they are selected Plantwise is an international program which assists with the provision of agronomic advice to smallholder farmers in LMICs Recommendations relating to the management of crop problems are stored in an international database, comprising over 400,000 records collected over 8 years The extent of antibiotic use in crop production when grouped by the WHO regions was analysed using descriptive statistics Within our data all WHO regions of the world are using antibiotics on crop plants with the exception of Africa (no data for Europe) and the main crop on which they are used is rice In some years, and in one region, nearly 10% of the management recommendations for rice contained an antibiotic Eleven antibiotics are being recommended on crops (often blended together) and there is considerable regional variation as to where they are used The problems against which antibiotics are recommended are extremely varied and we speculate that they are often used as a prophylactic spray to prevent, or control, low levels of bacterial disease The data reveals that antibiotics are being recommended far more frequently and on a much greater variety of crops than previously thought Relative to medical and veterinary use the quantities used globally are comparatively small, but this niche does provide some unique avenues by which resistance could develop in human pathogens Results presented here have implications for those wanting to limit the spread of antibiotic resistance

A large-scale comparison of conventional and molecular methods for the evaluation of host-parasitoid associations in non-target risk-assessment studies

Abstract: Summary 1 Accurate identification of natural enemies is the cornerstone of biological control, and methods that can separate closely related species are essential in ecological studies of parasitoids. Conventionally, host rearing and dissection are used to define the ecological host range of candidate biological control agents and assess host-specificity of parasitoids. However, molecular methods may be more suitable for the evaluation of host–parasitoid associations. 2 To demonstrate the utility of molecular diagnostics in ecological host-range studies on parasitoids of Lygus plant bugs, host rearing, dissection and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis were used to estimate parasitism levels and parasitoid species composition (genus Peristenus) in more than 26 000 field-collected target and non-target Miridae. 3 Parasitism levels estimated by conventional and molecular methods were similar but molecular analysis can detect parasitoids earlier than dissection and rearing. Parasitoid pupal mortality prevented the identification of more than 30% of individuals reared from non-target host material; however, paired samples analysed with the multiplex assay allowed the identity of these parasitoids to be inferred. Molecular methods can provide different, and generally more complete, parasitoid species composition information because the results are not confounded by the host and parasitoid mortality encountered in rearing. However, detection of a parasitoid in a host does not necessarily indicate survival to the adult stage. Further, molecular identification of parasitoid species may be restricted to those species for which PCR primers are available. 4 Synthesis and applications. For molecular diagnostic techniques to gain widespread adoption in ecological studies on natural enemy host range, they must provide information that is equivalent (or superior) to information obtained by conventional methods. Based on a large-scale case study, associations between Peristenus spp. and their mirid hosts were used to demonstrate the utility of molecular diagnostics in studies on parasitoid ecological host range; however, this approach can be extended to pre-release risk-assessment studies on other candidate biological control agents. Beyond agent identification, molecular diagnostics can facilitate and expedite pre- and post-release studies on the ecological host range of parasitoids, potential non-target effects, host–parasitoid associations and trophic interactions.