U.S.-Brazil Cooperative Research: Ecological and Molecular Studies on Nomuraea Rileyi

小行星9802635 这个美国-巴西奖将支持Dr. Drion G.佛罗里达大学的Boucias博士和巴西巴西利亚Embrapa/CENARGEN的Myrian SilvanTigano博士。 这些研究人员将研究一种昆虫真菌病原体，这种病原体可能被用作对抗害虫的微生物控制剂。 在巴西，这种真菌，Nomuraea rileyi，被用来对付一种侵染大豆的害虫--绒毛豆毛虫，并发现它足以导致该害虫种群密度的季节性抑制。从北佛罗里达、巴西联邦区和巴拉那州中部地区收集昆虫种群数据、大豆数据和天气数据，研究人员将汇编、审查和分析一个关于病原体及其与各种生物和非生物因素关系的广泛数据库。 他们将开发一个联合培养收集，将作为一个有价值的研究工具，从中选择的分离株可以筛选作为微生物控制剂的发展。 从这些实地研究中收集的数据将增加我们对动物真菌病原体在动物流行状态下如何运作而不伴随抗性昆虫选择的理解。 它也可以提供洞察如何操纵真菌病原体，这是一个可持续的资源，害虫和植物管理。 ***

9802635 Boucias This U.S.-Brazil award will support a research collaboration between Dr. Drion G. Boucias of the University of Florida and Dr. Myrian Silvana Tigano of Embrapa/CENARGEN in Brasilia, Brazil. These researchers will study an insect mycopathogen that may be used as a microbial control agent against pest insects. In Brazil, this fungi, Nomuraea rileyi, was used against the velvetbean caterpillar, a pest that infests soybeans, and found it was sufficient to cause a season-long suppression in the population density of that pest insect. Collecting insect population data, soybean data and weather data from sites in North Florida, the Federal District of Brazil and in the central region of Parana, the reseachers will compile, review and analyze an extensive database on the disease agent and its relation to various biotic and abiotic factors. They will develop a joint culture collection that will serve as a valuable research tool from which selected isolates can be screened for development as microbial control agents. The data gathered from these field studies will increase our understanding of how animal mycopathogens operate in an epizootic state without concomitant selection for resistance insects. It may also provide insight into how to manipulate mycopathogens, which are a sustainable resource for pest insect and plant management. ***