Understanding the environmental contexts for the commercialisation of a novel microbial pesticide

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

As food security becomes an increasing global concern there is an ever growing need to find sustainable effective management strategies for the many crop pests that threaten food production. Plant - parasitic nematodes are prevalent in many soils and cause huge losses of life-sustaining crops worldwide as they feed from plant roots and stem, weakening the plant and also often spreading other plant pathogens. Despite their impact there are limited options for effective and sustainable management strategies to prevent and treat nematode infestations. Current strategies predominantly rely on toxic chemical nematicides which are harmful to the physical environment, reduce soil biodiversity and can pose risks to human health.The Arcis Biotechnology Group have recently entered into a new venture to licence and commercialise a novel strain of bacteria that has demonstrated highly effective nematode control as a new microbial biopesticide. The bacterium works to promote and utilise the natural plant pest defence system of Brassica crops by releasing breakdown products toxic to the nematodes. Biopesticides are recognised as an important tool for achieving more sustainable crop protection but there has been a poor uptake of microbial pesticides in the UK with relatively few products successfully commercialised and there are many challenges facing small to medium enterprises developing potential plant protection products.This collaborative internship project would seek to promote the use of relevant current and emerging knowledge and evidence to promote and support the development of the microbial biopesticide. In doing so, the proposal directly addresses the NERC Innovation Priority Area, "Sustainable Food Production."