Multiple stressor effects on biological pest control; improving efficacy in challenging environments.

多重应激对害虫生物防治的影响；

• 批准号: 2620364
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Warwick
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2620364
• 关键词: Multiple; stressor; effects; biological; pest

Competing demands for agricultural productivity and sustainability have led to microbial biopesticides emerging as an integral crop protection tool. Developing microbial control in truly integrated pest management programmes, both in managed glasshouse and open agronomic systems with variable environmental conditions, presents scientific challenges. A better scientific understanding of fundamental interactions occurring between microbes and pesticides in combination is needed to ensure safe and effective future use. This includes the impact of interactions on microbial efficacy towards target organisms and whether sensitivities to other stressors are affected in non-target organisms, all within complex biotic and abiotic environments.Recent studies have investigated translation of mixture toxicity models from ecotoxicology to invertebrate pathology and this project will further our ability to describe how pathogens interact, by utilising novel experimental designs and data analysis. The aim is to detect and understand synergism, antagonism or additivity in terms of pest suppression, to improve reliability and resilience of microbial pest control through combination designs with other chemical inputs for control of weeds, pests and disease to maximise effects. The student will investigate how underpinning ecological interactions between co-infecting microbial insect pathogens and other toxicants affect the severity of disease, pathogen fitness and the impact on potential for control of pest insects. This will provide key understanding currently lacking for improving the efficacy of biological control in an applied situation. The overarching aims of the project are to; i) identify where, and how, pathogen/chemical effects combine most effectively and ii) understand how multiple stressors will impact on combination effects under variable environments. The "test bed" for these aims is an exemplar crop (tomatoes) and pest (whitefly/thrips) system for a series of experiments of increasing complexity. Work in Yr1 will be highly controlled microcosm experiments, allowing accurate manipulation, significant data generation and early peer reviewed publication. In Yr2, mesocosm and initial field trials will test predictions from Yr1 results. Expanding to Y2/3, field trials (glasshouse work significantly supported by the CASE partner) and additional experiments will validate predictions in more complex systems. Multiple glasshouse facilities will allow the student to undertake sequential field trials, thus reducing delivery risk. Specific questions the student will address are; 1. What are key aspects of binary pathogen/chemical mixtures that influence the likelihood of synergism occurring? How are outcomes altered by factors such as dose, strain and timing of application?2. What are the trade-offs in communities between pathogens in mixed interactions in terms of host mortality, fitness costs and ability to secondary cycle in the host population?3. How do environmental biotic/ abiotic stressors affect microbial impacts on target hosts and non-target naturally occurring regulating pathogens in the ecosystem? The innovative link of approaches from ecotoxicology to invertebrate pathology, coupled with expertise of the CASE and project partner in applied biological control worldwide will bring an exceptional level of training and research prospects in: invertebrate pathology, ecotoxicology, parasitology, molecular techniques, modelling and ecology.

对农业生产力和可持续性的竞争需求导致微生物生物农药作为一种不可或缺的作物保护工具而出现。在真正的综合害虫管理计划中，无论是在管理的温室还是在环境条件多变的开放式农艺系统中，开发微生物控制都提出了科学挑战。需要对微生物和农药之间的基本相互作用有更好的科学了解，以确保未来的安全和有效使用。这包括相互作用对微生物对靶生物的效力的影响，以及对其他应激源的敏感性是否会影响非靶生物，所有这些都在复杂的生物和非生物环境中。最近的研究已经调查了从生态毒理学到无脊椎动物病理学的混合物毒性模型的翻译，该项目将进一步提高我们描述病原体如何相互作用的能力，通过利用新颖的实验设计和数据分析。其目的是检测和了解害虫抑制方面的协同作用，拮抗作用或加和作用，通过与其他化学投入物的组合设计来提高微生物害虫控制的可靠性和弹性，以控制杂草，害虫和疾病，以最大限度地提高效果。学生将研究共同感染的微生物昆虫病原体和其他毒物之间的生态相互作用如何影响疾病的严重程度，病原体适应性以及对害虫控制潜力的影响。这将提供关键的理解，目前缺乏提高生物防治的有效性，在应用的情况。该项目的总体目标是：i）确定病原体/化学效应联合收割机在何处以及如何最有效地结合，ii）了解多种压力源如何在可变环境下影响组合效应。这些目标的“试验台”是一个示范作物（番茄）和害虫（粉虱/蓟马）系统，用于一系列日益复杂的实验。第一年的工作将是高度受控的微观实验，允许精确的操作，重要的数据生成和早期的同行评审出版物。在第二年，围隔生态系统和初始田间试验将测试第一年结果的预测。扩展到Y2/3，现场试验（CASE合作伙伴大力支持的温室工作）和其他实验将验证更复杂系统中的预测。多个温室设施将允许学生进行连续的田间试验，从而降低分娩风险。学生要回答的具体问题有：1。病原体/化学品二元混合物影响协同作用发生可能性的关键方面是什么？剂量、应变和应用时间等因素如何改变结果？2.就宿主死亡率、适应性成本和宿主种群次级循环能力而言，混合相互作用中的病原体之间的社区权衡是什么？3.环境生物/非生物压力如何影响微生物对生态系统中目标宿主和非目标自然发生的调节病原体的影响？从生态毒理学到无脊椎动物病理学方法的创新联系，加上CASE和项目合作伙伴在全球应用生物控制方面的专业知识，将在无脊椎动物病理学，生态毒理学，寄生虫学，分子技术，建模和生态学方面带来特殊的培训和研究前景。