BINGO — Breeding Invertebrates for Next Generation BioControl (BINGO)

Results in brief

Breeding Invertebrates for Next Generation BioControl (BINGO)

By 2050, the world population will have grown to around 9 billion people. Providing secure and sustainable food production is therefore a major challenge. However, food security is continuously under threat by invertebrate pests, destroying up to 20% of world food production. Chemical pesticides are still extensively used to protect food supplies, but their negative impact on food and environment resulted in regulations strictly limiting their use. Biocontrol, in which natural enemies are used to control pest populations, is a safe solution simultaneously addressing these two demands. Biocontrol often involves importing non-native natural enemies. While very successful, this practice is restricted as it goes against international protocols for protecting biological resources and may have negative side-effects on the indigenous flora and fauna. To reduce this dependency on imported natural enemies, BINGO researchers aimed at optimizing biocontrol with existing and native natural enemies using in-depth knowledge of genetics. BINGO advanced current knowledge in biocontrol through the use of genetic variation and by simultaneously trained 13 young researchers (ESRs) in an extensive suite of interdisciplinary skills. This allowed them to tackle the challenges of improving the efficiency of biocontrol by selective breeding of natural enemies in a broad range of agricultural systems and environments. The 13 research projects addressed current bottlenecks in biocontrol, for rearing, monitoring, and performance, and the application of state-of-the-art genomics. The industry had a pivotal role in BINGO by providing the problems for research, training, and by translating the results to increased competitiveness. BINGO researchers generated knowledge on the use of genetics in biocontrol and delivered most notably genomic resources for biocontrol agents, genetic and ecological monitoring tools, a general modeling framework for the improvement of biocontrol agents, information on the genetics underlying important biocontrol traits, and genomic selection protocols. Delivering biocontrol agents improved for performance traits proved to be more challenging than anticipated, but the knowledge generated in this process serves as a starting point for new projects. In general, the BINGO collaboration has been a fruitful partnership for ESRs and senior scientists alike. BINGO has generated many new ideas and has firmly put the use of genetic variation in biocontrol on the agenda of industry and science. We are proud of our lasting collaborations on which future research initiatives will be built.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

BACKGROUNDSecure and sustainable food production in terms of quantity and quality is a major challenge facing human societies. However, food security is continuously threatened by current and invasive pest species. EU regulations for the use of pesticides are getting stricter to ensure food safety and protect ecosystem health. Biocontrol of agricultural pests by using natural enemies has great potential to deal with these two demands.CHALLENGEControlling novel exotic pests often involves importing non-native natural enemies. Such practices are undesirable as it poses risks to local biodiversity. Optimizing existing and native biocontrol agents can reduce the dependence on imported natural enemies.OBJECTIVEBINGO will advance current knowledge in biocontrol practice through the use of natural genetic variation and by simultaneously training 13 young researchers in an extensive suite of interdisciplinary skills. This will allow them to improve the efficiency of biological pest control through selective breeding of natural enemies in a broad range of agricultural systems and environmental conditions.HOWThe research projects will address current bottlenecks in biocontrol, for rearing, monitoring and performance, that include a broad range of scientific disciplines and in which state-of-the-art population genomics will be applied. Industry has a pivotal role by providing the problems for research, training, and by translating the results to capacity building and increased competitiveness.RELEVANCEBINGO will deliver improved biocontrol agents, knowledge on the genetic organisation of traits related to agents’ performance, genetic markers for monitoring and risk assessment, and guidelines and protocols for genetic improvement of natural enemies. Crucially, BINGO will deliver eager ESRs that have the potential to thrive in professional environments in science, industry and public bodies to ensure that the biocontrol potential is met and implemented.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY · WageningenCoordinatorNetherlands
AMW Nützlinge GmbH · PfungstadtGermany
BIOLOGICKE CENTRUM AV CR VVI · Ceske BudejoviceCzechia
CAB INTERNATIONAL · WALLINGFORDUnited Kingdom
FUNDACAO DA FACULDADE DE CIENCIAS DA UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA FP · LisboaPortugal
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L'AGRICULTURE, L'ALIMENTATION ET L'ENVIRONNEMENT · ParisFrance
INSTITUTO VALENCIANO DE INVESTIGACIONES AGRARIAS · MoncadaSpain
KOPPERT BV · Berkel En RodenrijsNetherlands
RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN · GroningenNetherlands
THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS · ROMAItaly
UNIVERSITAET BREMEN · BremenGermany
VETERINAERMEDIZINISCHE UNIVERSITAET WIEN · WienAustria
Π.ΣΚΕΝΤΕΡΙΔΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΣΙΑ Ε.Ε. · N.SilataGreece

BINGO · Breeding Invertebrates for Next Generation BioControl (BINGO)

Results in brief

Breeding Invertebrates for Next Generation BioControl (BINGO)

Project objective

Participants

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