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

随着粮食安全日益成为全球关注的问题，越来越需要为威胁粮食生产的许多作物害虫找到可持续的有效管理战略。植物寄生线虫在许多土壤中普遍存在，并且在世界范围内造成维持生命的作物的巨大损失，因为它们从植物根和茎中取食，削弱植物并且还经常传播其他植物病原体。尽管它们的影响，但有效和可持续的管理战略，以防止和治疗线虫感染的选择有限。目前的策略主要依赖于有毒的化学杀线虫剂，这些化学杀线虫剂对自然环境有害，减少土壤生物多样性，并可能对人类健康构成风险。Arcis生物技术集团最近成立了一家新企业，将一种新型细菌菌株作为一种新型微生物生物农药进行许可和商业化，该菌株已被证明是高效的线虫控制剂。该细菌通过释放对线虫有毒的分解产物来促进和利用芸苔属作物的天然植物害虫防御系统。生物农药被认为是实现更可持续作物保护的重要工具，但在英国，微生物农药的使用率很低，成功商业化的产品相对较少，中小型企业开发潜在的植物保护产品面临许多挑战。这个合作实习项目将寻求促进使用相关的现有和新兴知识和证据，以促进和支持微生物生物农药的发展。在此过程中，该提案直接涉及NERC创新优先领域“可持续粮食生产”。"

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."