Biological Control最新文献

{"title":"Non-target parasitism of endemic weevils by introduced Microctonus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) species in tussock grasslands of Otago and Southland, New Zealand","authors":"Colin M. Ferguson ,&nbsp;Diane M. Barton ,&nbsp;Nicola K. Richards ,&nbsp;Karren O’Neill ,&nbsp;Samuel D.J. Brown ,&nbsp;Barbara I.P. Barratt","doi":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105627","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105627","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The parasitoids <em>Microctonus aethiopoides</em> Loan (Moroccan and Irish ecotypes) and <em>M. hyperodae</em> Loan (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) have been introduced to New Zealand as biological control agents for agricultural pest weevils <em>Sitona discoideus</em> Gyllenhal, <em>S. obsoletus</em> Gmelin and <em>Listronotus bonariensis</em> (Kuschel). These parasitoids are also present in native tussock grassland habitats and a survey carried out over two years at nine tussock grassland sites demonstrated that several endemic weevil species were parasitized by these biological control agents within these habitats. New records of non-target parasitism were found for the endemic species of <em>Chalepistes, Nicaeana</em>, and <em>Eugnomus</em>. It was found that <em>M. aethiopoides</em> is established and cycling within weevil communities in these environments, using endemic weevil hosts in part, but pathways also exist via three pest weevil species for spillover from agricultural environments. Parasitism of endemic weevils was not found to be ubiquitous in these environments and parasitism levels were mostly below 10%.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8880,"journal":{"name":"Biological Control","volume":"198 ","pages":"Article 105627"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142420259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Release strategy and egg parasitism of Telenomus podisi adults fed with different diets","authors":"Leonardo Roswadoski ,&nbsp;Weidson P. Sutil ,&nbsp;Gabriel S. Carneiro ,&nbsp;Rodrigo M.A. Maciel ,&nbsp;Aloisio Coelho Jr ,&nbsp;Adeney F. Bueno","doi":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105626","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105626","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The release of <em>Telenomus podisi</em> in the pupae stage for the control of <em>Euschistus heros</em> can be negatively affected by biotic and abiotic causes of mortality, reducing parasitoid emergence from pupae in the field. Therefore, this work aimed to develop a solid diet for adults of <em>T. podisi</em> that can be used inside capsules to enable the release of fed and copulated adults. Among different tested diets, 100 % honey, offered as honey-macerated cotton strings, obtained the best results. This solid honey diet is the most appropriate to feed <em>T. podisi</em> inside release capsules, enabling the release of fed adults and, thereby, reducing parasitoid mortality. In addition, the solid diet inside capsules ensures that parasitoids can be stored for at the least 15 days after the onset of adult emergence before their release in the field. This makes the release process more flexible and attractive to farmers by enabling a release delay in bad weather conditions or for other reasons.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8880,"journal":{"name":"Biological Control","volume":"198 ","pages":"Article 105626"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142420258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Constitutive and inducible tomato defenses contribute to Bacillus thuringiensis lethality against Spodoptera exigua","authors":"Ada Frattini ,&nbsp;Rosa M. González-Martínez ,&nbsp;Juan M. García ,&nbsp;Zhivko Minchev ,&nbsp;María J. Pozo ,&nbsp;Víctor Flors ,&nbsp;Cristina M. Crava ,&nbsp;Salvador Herrero","doi":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105624","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105624","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In nature, insect herbivory exerts continuous selective pressure on plants that, in turn, have developed a wide array of constitutive and inducible defenses to fight against attackers. Since plant defenses may affect higher trophic levels, including entomopathogens, further research is required to understand how plant compounds influence insect-pathogens interactions and their implications for integrated pest management programs. Here, we evaluated the impact of tomato defenses on the lethality produced by the bacterial entomopathogen <em>Bacillus thuringiensis</em> (Bt) against second instar larvae of <em>Spodoptera exigua.</em> We first examined the effect of constitutive defenses from fifteen wild tomato species and forty cultivated varieties (<em>Solanum lycopersicum</em>) on <em>S. exigua</em> larval growth and susceptibility to Bt. The results showed larvae fed on wild tomato species had a reduced larval growth compared to larvae fed on cultivated varieties, whereas susceptibility to Bt was similar between both groups. We then selected six cultivated varieties, including those with high and low impacts on larval growth and Bt-induced mortality, to further explore the effect of inducible defenses. Elicitation of defenses by methyl jasmonate (MeJA) reduced larval growth and increased basal mortality. Additionally, when larvae were infected with Bt, MeJA treatment further increased their susceptibility to the entomopathogen. Metabolomic analysis confirmed a reprogramming of tomato leaf metabolism following MeJA elicitation, with an induced accumulation of bioactive compounds, such as saponins or flavonoids, known for their anti-herbivory properties in most tomato varieties. Overall, these data reveal that both constitutive and inducible tomato defenses not only protect the plant by directly affecting the insect pest but also enhance the efficacy of bacterial entomopathogens.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8880,"journal":{"name":"Biological Control","volume":"198 ","pages":"Article 105624"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142357600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rotstop and urea treatments do not affect composition of fungal community and diversity in Norway spruce stumps","authors":"Tiia Drenkhan-Maaten ,&nbsp;Ahto Agan ,&nbsp;Kati Küngas ,&nbsp;Kalev Adamson ,&nbsp;Rein Drenkhan","doi":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105619","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105619","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The fungus <em>Heterobasidion annosum</em> s.l. is one of the most destructive pathogens in coniferous forests in the Northern Hemisphere spreading during most of the year with spores and through root contact. However, especially in commercial forest land where forests are in active economic use, it is necessary to implement countermeasures against the spread of the pathogen with stump treatment. For this purpose, the effects of the biological control Rotstop and chemical control urea against <em>Heterobasidion</em> infection were analysed. The best practise for treatment of stumps with Rotstop is mechanical application during thinning, but stump treatment can be delayed after winter thinning due to warmer winters. We analysed the effect of Rotstop treatment on the fungal community and its diversity after mechanical and manual thinning. We found that Rotstop treatment did not significantly decrease fungal diversity at the genus level after mechanical stump treatment. The stump treatment with Rotstop was more successful in mechanically treated stumps, where the effectiveness of Rotstop treatment was 91 %. The treatment with Rotstop was more effective on the <em>Hepatica</em> (97 %) compared to <em>Oxalis</em> site type (84 %), however, the difference was not statistically significant. On the <em>Oxalis</em> site type, 6.0 % of all sequences per sample from Rotstop treated stumps harboured <em>P. gigantea,</em> while on the <em>Hepatica</em> site type 10 % of all sequences were identified as <em>P. gigantea</em>. In manually treated stumps, <em>Heterobasidion</em> and <em>P. gigantea</em> accounted for 6.4 % and 1.0 % of all sequences, respectively. Although the composition of detected taxons was different among sites treated with urea, versus sites treated with Rotstop and control areas, 60.1 % of all taxons detected in the dataset were shared among all three treatments. Fungal species richness and Shannon species diversity indexes were similar in all three manually prepared treatments (Rotstop, urea and control). Rotstop and urea manual treatments 3 months after winter thinning had no significant effect on the relative abundance of <em>Heterobasidion</em>. The results also indicate that only winter thinning (average daily temperature &lt; 5℃) does not control or reduce the <em>Heterobasidion</em> infection from the cut side of the stump.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8880,"journal":{"name":"Biological Control","volume":"198 ","pages":"Article 105619"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142357601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bacillus velezensis GX1 and its potential for the control of lily bulb rot","authors":"Sha Zhang ,&nbsp;Ting Lou ,&nbsp;Si Wu ,&nbsp;Shenggui Liu ,&nbsp;Hao Pan ,&nbsp;Jing Yang ,&nbsp;Yifeng Su ,&nbsp;Wang Hu ,&nbsp;Wei Xiang ,&nbsp;Shuangyan Pan ,&nbsp;Lei Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105616","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105616","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Bulb rot of lily (<em>Lilium brownii</em> var. <em>viridulum</em>), caused by <em>Fusarium commune,</em> is a serious soilborne disease of lily plants. In this study, several bacterial isolates were obtained from the rhizosphere of healthy lily plants and evaluated for biocontrol potential. Among the obtained isolates, GX1 had the highest level of antifungal activity <em>in vitro,</em> inhibiting the growth of <em>F. commune</em> by 52.0 %, relative to the control (CK). The isolate was identified as <em>Bacillus velezensis</em> based on its morphology and <em>16S rRNA</em> and <em>gyrB</em> gene sequence analysis. The fermentation broth of GX1 after 12 d of fermentation at 25 °C (pH 7) exhibited strong antifungal activity. A crude lipopeptide extracts of GX1 fermentation broth was as effective (50.3 %) at inhibiting the mycelial growth of <em>F. commune</em> as living cultures of GX1. GX1 possesses <em>fenD, bmyB, srfAA</em> and <em>bacA</em> antimicrobial peptide (AMP) genes, which may be the primary source of its antifungal activity. GX1 significantly reduced the disease severity index of lily bulb rot in pot experiments, indicating that <em>B. velezensis</em> GX1 has substantial potential for the biological control of lily bulb rot.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8880,"journal":{"name":"Biological Control","volume":"198 ","pages":"Article 105616"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049964424001816/pdfft?md5=8114632f0796c0a0f8b7573e1bb52a79&pid=1-s2.0-S1049964424001816-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142274242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biocontrol of fungal pathogens and growth promotion in the Korean fir (Abies koreana E.H.Wilson) seedling using Bacillus velezensis CE 100","authors":"Su-In Choi ,&nbsp;Hyo-In Lim ,&nbsp;Henry B. Ajuna ,&nbsp;Jae-Hyun Moon ,&nbsp;Sang-Jae Won ,&nbsp;Vantha Choub ,&nbsp;Ju-Yeol Yun ,&nbsp;Young Sang Ahn","doi":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105620","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105620","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The restoration of the endangered Korean fir (<em>Abies koreana</em> E.H.Wilson) forests requires mass production of high-quality and well-developed seedlings for outplanting. However, phytopathogenic fungal infections lower the survival rate and growth vigor of <em>A. koreana</em> seedlings, frustrating the re-afforestation efforts. This study isolated and identified the phytopathogenic fungi causing seedling blight and wilt diseases in <em>A. koreana</em> seedlings and investigated the potential of <em>Bacillus velezensis</em> CE 100 in controlling the fungal pathogens and promoting seedling growth. <em>Phomopsis mali</em> and <em>Fusarium oxysporum</em> were confirmed as the causal agents of blight and wilt diseases, respectively, and both fungi reduced the survival rate of <em>A. koreana</em> seedlings. <em>B. velezensis</em> CE 100 produced cell wall-degrading enzymes: chitinase, protease, and β-1,3-glucanase, and the bacterial crude enzyme fraction inhibited the spore germination and mycelial growth of <em>P. mali</em> and <em>F. oxysporum</em> in a concentration-dependent manner, causing severe morphological deformations. Consequently, treatment with <em>B. velezensis</em> CE 100 improved the survival rate of seedlings infected with either <em>P. mali</em> or <em>F. oxysporum</em> compared to the control and PB media treatment. The bacterium also increased nutrient availability through ammonia–nitrogen production and phosphate solubilization and produced indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and its inoculation remarkably improved seedling growth (root and shoot dry weight) compared to the control and PB media treatment group. This is the first study to report <em>P. mali</em> and <em>F. oxysporum</em> as the pathogens causing seedling blight and wilt diseases in <em>A. koreana</em> nursery seedling, and the possibility of using <em>B. velezensis</em> CE 100 to control the fungal pathogens and improve the seedling growth without chemical use.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8880,"journal":{"name":"Biological Control","volume":"198 ","pages":"Article 105620"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049964424001853/pdfft?md5=c9e20d49464d7177e1e757a45e4955ac&pid=1-s2.0-S1049964424001853-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142239384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pseudomonas protegens ML15 and Trichoderma koningiopsis Tr21 co-culture: A potent strategy for suppressing Fusarium cerealis infections in wheat through augmented antifungal metabolite production","authors":"Nur Ajijah ,&nbsp;Angelika Fiodor ,&nbsp;Krzysztof Kazimierczuk ,&nbsp;Monika Urbaniak ,&nbsp;Elsie Enow ,&nbsp;Robert Stasiuk ,&nbsp;Lukasz Stepien ,&nbsp;Lukasz Dziewit ,&nbsp;Kumar Pranaw","doi":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105621","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105621","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Wheat (<em>Triticum aestivum</em> L.), a staple grain consumed worldwide, is heavily affected by <em>Fusarium</em> species, which cause harmful diseases that threaten its production. The present study was conducted to investigate the biocontrol activity of monocultures of <em>Pseudomonas protegens</em> ML15 and <em>Trichoderma koningiopsis</em> Tr21 as well as their co-culture, as a sustainable strategy to combat <em>Fusarium cerealis</em>. The cell-free supernatant and cell-free extract of co-culture demonstrated increased inhibitory effects against <em>F. cerealis</em>, compared to the monocultures. GC-MS analysis revealed that cell-free extract of <em>P. protegens</em> ML15, <em>T. koningiopsis</em> Tr21, and co-culture contained different bioactive metabolites. Pyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,4-dione derivatives were major compounds in the cell-free extract of co-culture. Further analysis using NMR and HPLC, revealed that co-culture produced higher concentrations of pyoluteorin, 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol, and 2,4-di-<em>tert</em>-butylphenol, compared to their respective monocultures. <em>In vivo</em> plant experiments indicated that co-culture treatment reduced <em>F. cerealis</em> infection and improved wheat development. Our findings highlight the exciting potential of co-culturing <em>P. protegens</em> ML15 and <em>T. koningiopsis</em> Tr21 as a formidable biocontrol duo, particularly effective against notorious fungal plant pathogens like <em>Fusarium</em>. This innovative approach holds promise for revolutionizing agricultural practices, offering sustainable solutions to combat crop diseases, and ensuring global food security.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8880,"journal":{"name":"Biological Control","volume":"198 ","pages":"Article 105621"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049964424001865/pdfft?md5=1dee926583c7a3365effa51031bc240c&pid=1-s2.0-S1049964424001865-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142233769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characterization of increased mortality of Drosophila melanogaster exposed to sucrose-fermenting yeast","authors":"Mikhail Martchenko Shilman,&nbsp;Thomas Henderson,&nbsp;Wai Gee","doi":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105618","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105618","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Adult fruit flies are strongly attracted to odors emitted by the microbial fermentation of sugars in fruits. Such microbes, particularly yeasts, also serve as an essential nutritional source for fruit flies and influence their reproduction and fecundity. Despite being known as natural symbionts, it was previously observed that sucrose-fermenting <em>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em> can be lethal to <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>. This study characterizes the conditions that affect the lethality of <em>S. cerevisiae</em> in fruit flies. We showed that the insecticidal activity of yeast was equal in five tested <em>S. cerevisiae</em> strains. Another yeast, <em>Pichia anomala,</em> killed fruit flies, although to a lesser degree than <em>S. cerevisiae</em>. Higher concentrations of yeast resulted in faster killing of fruit flies, although the killing rate was capped at two days of continuous exposure. Both sexes were similarly sensitive to yeast at 30, whereas males were less sensitive to yeast at 25 degrees Celsius. Higher sucrose amounts in food slightly decreased the sensitivity of male but not female flies to yeast. This study characterizes a relatively uncharted side of the intricate interaction between fruit flies and yeast and highlights the possibility for manipulation aimed at mitigating the agricultural impact of these pests.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8880,"journal":{"name":"Biological Control","volume":"198 ","pages":"Article 105618"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S104996442400183X/pdfft?md5=3c8258162759ce2b56059d84674bdf09&pid=1-s2.0-S104996442400183X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142172728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transgenerational stability of a high temperature-adapted strain of Neoseiulus barkeri Hughes (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and differential expression of antioxidant genes in response to heat stress","authors":"Wenqiang Chu ,&nbsp;Dong Xiang ,&nbsp;Haoyue Tan ,&nbsp;Mian Wang ,&nbsp;Huanhuan Zhang ,&nbsp;Hanqiu Chen ,&nbsp;Yaying Li ,&nbsp;Huai Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105617","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105617","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>High temperature-adapted natural enemies may exhibit improved biocontrol effiicacy in hot weather, but transgenerational stability of the trait may affect practical applications. <em>Neoseiulus barkeri</em> is a commercially produced biocontrol agent, and a high temperature-adapted strain (HTAS) has been developed. Thermotolerance and the activity of antioxidant enzymes were evaluated in HTAS progeny under non-selective conditions to determine transgenerational stability of the selected adaptation. Results showed that survival of HTAS offspring decreased slightly after heat stress compared to HTAS parents, but remained significantly higher than that of the conventional strain (CS). LT₅₀ and LT₉₅ values of HTAS progeny were similar to HTAS parents and were approximately 2.5 and 4 h greater than CS, respectively. Similarly, predation behavior of HTAS offspring decreased somewhat compared to HTAS parents after short-term heat stress, but remained significantly higher than that of CS mites. Searching rate (<em>a</em>) of HTAS progeny was similar to HTAS parents and noticeably higher than CS, whereas handling time (<em>T_h</em>) was lower than CS mites. Activities of both superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione S-transferase (GST), along with malondialdehyde (MDA) content and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), were lower in HTAS offspring compared to HTAS parents and the CS, whereas peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities were higher. The expression levels of ten antioxidant genes in HTAS offspring were significantly lower than in HTAS parents or CS mites before heat stress, but reached or surpassed parental levels after heat stress. Correlation analysis found both positive and negative associations between antioxidant indices and antioxidant genes. These results suggest that thermotolerance in the HTAS is relatively stably across generations in the absence of selective pressure, and is associated with changes in expression of antioxidant genes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8880,"journal":{"name":"Biological Control","volume":"198 ","pages":"Article 105617"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049964424001828/pdfft?md5=cf8ca037afb2ac09f4662bf4a49c5988&pid=1-s2.0-S1049964424001828-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142229042","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing pre-release studies for weed biocontrol agents: A review of existing and emerging tools","authors":"H.L. Hinz ,&nbsp;G. Cabrera Walsh ,&nbsp;I. Paterson ,&nbsp;Q. Paynter ,&nbsp;M. Schwarzländer ,&nbsp;M. Smith ,&nbsp;P. Weyl","doi":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105607","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105607","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Thorough pre-release studies to determine the environmental safety of biocontrol agents and to predict their effectiveness in controlling the target weed are crucial parts of any weed biocontrol project. Over the last five to six decades, the scientific rigor of pre-release investigations has constantly improved, reflected in a continuous decrease of nontarget attack incidences. Success rates have also increased, but are more variable, and the proportion of biocontrol agent releases leading to heavy impact has remained stagnant since the 1950 s at an approximate maximum of 25 %. In this paper, we review four methodological approaches that can further enhance environmental safety testing of weed biocontrol agents prior to release. These methodological approaches are (i) chemical ecology, (ii) predictability of field host use through relative performance analysis, (iii) quantification of field host range data, and (iv) experimental evolutionary studies. These approaches are not meant to substitute traditional host specificity testing, which remains the foundation of environmental safety assessments of weed biocontrol agents. Instead, they are meant to provide additional quantitative, behavioral, physiological and evolutionary insights to more accurately predict the realized host range of agents, and to further improve interpretation of host specificity data. We also review four methodological approaches that can facilitate increasing the effectiveness of weed biocontrol agents. These are (i) biocontrol agent and target weed trait analysis, (ii) experimental and field-based impact assessments, (iii) climate suitability studies, and (iv) target weed demography. The caveat of some of the tools and procedures is that they are context specific and not universally suitable for every weed biocontrol project. In addition, some of the approaches require substantial post-release data to corroborate their predictions. We are convinced that the tools and procedures reviewed here along with continued technological advances will refine predictions about the environmental safety and effectiveness of weed biocontrol agents. We also hope that this paper will motivate biocontrol scientists to not only adopt some of the tools more routinely, but ideally to improve them or to develop other novel methods outright. The more that analytical and explanatory research is conducted during weed biocontrol pre-release studies, the more credible the discipline will become.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8880,"journal":{"name":"Biological Control","volume":"198 ","pages":"Article 105607"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142357602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}