Using an Antarctic fungus as a wintertime biopesticide

问题：黑藤象鼻虫（BVW）对英国软果种植者造成了严重破坏，仅草莓和蓝莓每年的损失估计就达1000万英镑。其幼虫在土壤中越冬，对植物根系造成巨大损害，最终导致植物死亡。草莓受到的损害是如此严重，以至于现在每年都要种植新的植物。随着可用化学农药的减少，用于BVW控制的合适产品范围正在成为令人关切的问题。大松象甲是英国和爱尔兰针叶树恢复中最严重的害虫，也是林业委员会的优先害虫。如果不采取控制措施，全英国大约50%的小树可能会消失。2005年的数字表明，英国林业的潜在损失为每年1200万英镑（Torr等人，2005 Forestry applications，in：Nematodes as biological control agents，CABI Publishing，Wallingford，pp. 281-293）。成虫在落叶层和上层土壤中越冬，这是冬季生物农药的目标生命阶段。我们如何解决这个问题？CABI是一家促进全球可持续农业的非营利研究机构，BAS是一家极地研究机构，在全球范围内应用其专业知识，可以增加价值，通过开发一种新的生物农药，找到了保护英国软水果和森林的潜在答案。以前的项目已经在实验室中证明，这种真菌在英国冬季温度（0-10 ℃）下生长旺盛，并具有杀虫活性。CABI和BAS正在开发一种新产品，以杀死BBW和PW，而他们在土壤中越冬。目前用于象鼻虫（其中大多数是线虫）的商业生物杀虫剂在低于10 ℃的温度下效果不佳，因此在冬季的几个月里，当这些害虫相对不动时，因此在被击中的“完美”时间，几乎没有合适的方法。该项目计划在深秋土壤温度开始下降时将南极真菌应用于土壤。然后，真菌将开始生长，因为其他自然微生物将处于休眠状态。据设想，当真菌在土壤中生长时，它将遇到BVW/PW并杀死它们。在春天，当本地微生物退出休眠时，我们预计南极真菌将被淘汰。在这个项目中，来自英国各地的土壤将由AlphaBioControl Ltd收集，这是一家促进可持续作物保护产品使用的商业公司。CABI随后将检查南极真菌是否能杀死收集到的土壤中的BBW和PW。CABI还将确定真菌是否会伤害蚯蚓。从南极洲收集真菌的BAS将进行生态研究，以确定真菌在不同温度下如何生长并与英国土壤中的其他微生物相互作用。该项目的产出将是获得监管部门批准所必需的，并提供足够的证据，使项目团队能够与AlphaBioControl Ltd等商业合作伙伴一起申请Innovate UK或其他行业主导的资金，以进一步商业化。最终用户受益：生物农药生产商将有机会将新产品推向市场，填补温带农业，园艺和林业的空白。软果的生产者将受益于减少对植物的损害。特别是，草莓种植者可能不需要每年重新种植，节省了劳动力和材料成本，这将有利于减少对紧急化学干预的需求。林业将受益，因为他们将有另一种选择来控制PW;事实上，到2020年，这可能是唯一的选择，因为目前使用的化学农药正在逐步淘汰。此外，如果我们的产品成功，林业将不需要每年重新储存那么多的幼树。

The problem: The black vine weevil (BVW) is causing havoc for UK soft fruit growers, with estimated losses for strawberry and blueberry alone of £10 million per annum. Its larvae overwinter in the soil and cause tremendous damage to plant roots, ultimately killing the plant. The damage is so bad in strawberries that new plants are now planted yearly. With the decline in available chemical pesticides, the range of suitable products for BVW control is becoming a cause for concern. The large pine weevil (PW) is the most serious pest of conifer restoration in the UK and Ireland and is a priority pest of the Forestry Commission. In the absence of control measures some 50% of young trees could be lost across the UK. Figures in 2005 put the potential loss to the British forestry industry at £12 million per year (Torr et al. 2005 Forestry applications, in: Nematodes as biological control agents, CABI Publishing, Wallingford, pp. 281-293). Adult PW overwinter in leaf litter and the upper soil layers and this is the life-stage that a winter-time biopesticide would target.How are we addressing the problem?CABI, a not-for-profit research organisation that promotes sustainable agriculture worldwide, and BAS, a polar research institute that applies its expertise globally wherever it can add value, have found a potential answer to protecting British soft fruits and forests by developing a new biopesticide, based on a fungus sourced from the Antarctic. Previous projects have demonstrated, in the laboratory, that the fungus thrives at British winter temperatures (0-10 C) and has insect-killing activity. CABI and BAS are developing a new product to kill BVW and PW while they overwinter in the soil. Current commercial biopesticides for weevils (the majority of which are nematodes) work poorly at temperatures below 10 C, hence over the winter months when these pests are relatively immobile, and therefore at a 'perfect' time to be hit, there are few suitable means of doing so. This project plans to apply the Antarctic fungus to soils in late autumn when soil temperatures start to decline. The fungus will then start to grow as other natural microorganisms will be dormant. It is envisaged that as the fungus grows through the soil it will encounter BVW/PW and kill them. In spring, when native microorganisms exit dormancy, we expect the Antarctic fungus to be outcompeted. In this project soils from around the UK will be collected by AlphaBioControl Ltd, a commercial company promoting the use of sustainable crop protection products. CABI will then examine if the Antarctic fungus can kill BVW and PW in the soils collected. CABI will also determine if the fungus harms earthworms. BAS, who collected the fungus from Antarctica, will carry out ecological studies to determine how the fungus will grow and interact with other microorganisms in UK soils under different temperatures. The outputs of this project will be necessary for obtaining regulatory approval and to provide sufficient evidence to enable the project team, together with a commercial partner such as AlphaBioControl Ltd, to apply for Innovate UK or other industry-led funding for further commercialisation.Benefit to end-users:Biopesticide producers will benefit from the opportunity to bring a new product to market which fills a gap in temperate agri-, horti- and silviculture. Producers of soft fruit will benefit by reduced damage to plants. In particular, strawberry growers may not need to re-plant annually, saving labour and material costs, and here will be benefits from a reduced need for emergency chemical intervention. Forestry will benefit as they will have another option to control PW; indeed possibly the only option by 2020, as the chemical pesticides presently in use are being phased out. Furthermore, forestry will not need to restock as many young trees on a yearly basis, if our product is successful.