HEИндивидуална стипендия2024–2026

EXPEL · Experimental evolution in a tri-factorial system

„Хоризонт Европа“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2024-03-01 → 2026-02-28
Финансиране от ЕС: 230 774 €
Участници: 1
Схема: HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

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Накратко на български

Ентомопатогенните нематоди (микроскопични червеи) се изследват в лабораторна среда, за да се разбере как те заразяват и убиват ларви на вредители. Това помага за създаването на по-ефективни и екологични методи за защита на посевите, които да заменят химическите пестициди.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Experimental evolution in a tri-factorial system

Crop pests cause huge financial losses for farmers around the world. Traditionally, these pests are controlled with chemical pesticides, but this is becoming a concern because of harmful effects on the environment, possible risks to human health, and the fact that pests can become resistant to these chemicals over time. Because of this, there is a growing need for more sustainable ways to protect crops. Some alternatives include rotating crops instead of growing the same one repeatedly, planting different crops together, using pest-resistant plants (either naturally or through breeding or genetic modification), and using natural predators like entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs). These EPNs are tiny worms that naturally infect and kill insect larvae and can help control pest populations. EPNs are already available commercially and can be applied using equipment similar to pesticide sprayers. However, they are not yet widely used because many of them die shortly after being applied, which makes them less effective. So far, research has mainly focused on testing which combinations of crops, pests, and worm species work best, but results have been inconsistent. In this project (EXPEL), we created a controlled lab system using EPNs and a model host to better understand how these worms infect and interact with their hosts. This system can help improve how EPNs are used and potentially make pest control more effective and environmentally friendly. Another challenge is identifying different EPN species. Although many species have been described, and new species are still being discovered around the world, they often look very similar. Their similar appearance makes it difficult to identify species using traditional microscopic methods. Modern genetic approaches are still not widely used but offer a promising way forward. While some EPN species have had their genomes studied, many remain uncharacterized. As part of EXPEL, we worked on improving DNA-based methods to identify and study EPN species. By understanding which species are naturally present in local agricultural soils and how they behave, we can better compare them to commercial strains and identify those best suited for pest control. This knowledge could help develop more effective, affordable, and sustainable ways to protect crops.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

Parasitic nematode infections are a major threat to human, animal and plant health. Infection prevention or control depends heavily on chemical treatment, but resistance is becoming widespread, and the compounds used pollute surface- and groundwater. To develop new mitigation strategies, it is important to understand host-parasite interactions and fundamental mechanisms of parasitism, but parasites of vertebrates are difficult to study. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) and their hosts offer great potential in this context. EPNs are microscopic nematodes that prey on larval stages of many insects and naturally help regulate insect populations. EPNs are commercially available to target a range of soil-dwelling plant pests, but efficiency depends on the environment and the targeted pest. EPNs have also been used to study immunological responses of insect hosts. In these studies, a fraction of the hosts survives the infection. The aim of research proposed here is to select the surviving hosts and establish a model system of the EPN-host complex to study host-parasite interactions through experimental evolution of parasitism. Traits including life span and stress responses, as well as genomic and transcription changes of the host and the EPN will be studied. The downstream application of this model is the optimization of biocontrol agents of plant and animal pathogens by selecting EPNs that are resistant to environmental stressors like heat, desiccation and UV radiation, and that prey on new host species. The proposed research uses the EPN Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, its symbiont Photorhabdus luminescens, and the host Drosophila melanogaster. The expertise of the supervisor in Drosophila and evolutionary research combined with the Experienced Researcher’s (ER) empirical and computational skills provides a perfect match for the proposed project. Additionally, the project will integrate the ER’s multidisciplinary skillset for a future career as an independent academic.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

AALBORG UNIVERSITET · AalborgКоординаторДания