Overview of the USDA-ARS Center for Grain and Animal Health Research - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Overview of the USDA-ARS Center for Grain and Animal Health Research and Stored Product Insect Research Unit in Manhattan, Kansas

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Center for Grain and Animal Health Research , 1515 College Avenue, Manhattan, KS, USA

James E. Throne

Center for Grain and Animal Health Research Agricultural Research Service

CGAHR has five research units - four located in main facility on 12 acre (4 hectare) site and one unit on Kansas State University campus

50,000 bu (700 mt) Research Grain Elevator Main facility

Engineering and Wind Erosion Research Unit

 4 scientists  Develop technologies for rapid, automated

assessment of grain quality – detecting disease, mycotoxins, or insect infestation; quantifying protein and other quality traits

 Develop techniques for safe storage of grain –

identity preservation, dust reduction

 Control wind erosion of the soil – Wind Erosion

Prediction System

Grain Quality & Structure Research Unit  5 scientists  Determine grain characteristics and components responsible for end-use quality – e.g., which proteins in wheat affect bread rising  Find new uses for sorghum

Hessian fly Leaf Rust Karnal bunt Head Scab

Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research Unit

 6 scientists  Develop disease- and

insect-resistant wheat that can tolerate environmental stresses

Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit

 7 scientists  Conduct research to solve major endemic, emerging, and

exotic arthropod-borne disease problems in U.S. livestock

Stored Product Insect Research Unit

 7 scientists  Develop environmentally friendly and cost-effective methods

to control stored-product insect pests

Which stored products do we work with?

• Bulk grains in bins and elevators
• Milling, processing, and warehouse industry
• Transportation industry - railcars, ships
• Urban environments - stores, homes

Why work on stored-product insects?

• Insects reduce the quality of stored grain and other stored products

in the U.S. and throughout the world.

• Over 10 billion bushels (254 million metric tons) of corn, 2 billion

bushels (54 million metric tons) of wheat, and about a billion bushels (27 million metric tons) of barley, oats, rice, rye, and sorghum are grown in the U.S. each year, with a value of over 44 billion dollars.

• It is estimated that postharvest losses to these grains due to insects

are 5 to 10% in the U.S., or about 2.2 to 4.4 billion dollars per year.

• Losses in developing countries are estimated at 30 to 50%.
• Losses to processed commodities are difficult to quantify, but

probably greatly exceed the losses to raw commodities.

• Many of the insecticides used by the cereal foods industry are being

lost due to insecticide resistance or regulatory changes, so we need alternative control technologies.

• Dr. Frank Arthur
• Integrated Pest

Management

He conducts studies to determine

• ptimal use of insecticides,

particularly reduced-risk insecticides and aerosols, to help industry optimize insecticide use in stored grain and in processing

• facilities. He investigates effects of

various factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and sanitation on efficacy of insecticides.

• Dr. Jeff Lord
• Insect pathology

Many of the reduced-risk control technologies have lower efficacy than conventional insecticides, so we are looking for ways to synergize insect pathogens to make them more effective, such as combining the fungus Beauveria bassiana with diatomaceous earth.

Check Bb DE Bb+DE 43 75 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

30oC

• Dr. Paul Flinn
• Expert Systems

The expert system Stored Grain Advisor was developed to aid in pest management in farm-stored wheat. Stored Grain Advisor Pro was developed to predict risk of insect problems in grain stored at elevators.

• Dr. Paul Flinn
• Biological control

These small parasitic wasps attack beetle larvae in stored

• grain. He found that by

reducing the grain temperature using aeration in the summer, these beneficial insects were 10 times more effective.

• Dr. Paul Flinn
• Biological control

Matt Grieshop was a graduate student studying the behavior and ecology of tiny parasitoid wasps that are used to suppress moth pests in retail environments.

• Dr. Jim Throne
• Ecology and sampling

We conducted a study that showed that the current grain buying practice based on insect-damaged kernels (IDK) is not a reliable indicator of insect infestation in railcars of wheat because there is not a clear relationship between IDK and the insect infestation level present in the grain.

Entomological applications of near-infrared spectroscopy developed include detection of insect-infested kernels and quantification of insect fragments in flour.

• Dr. Jim Throne
• Ecology and sampling

Insects developing inside kernels can be detected using digital X-ray technology.

• Dr. Jim Throne
• Ecology and sampling

X-rays provide the most accurate estimate of internal

insect infestation, but the method is laborious and expensive Digital x-ray images obtained with Faxitron MX-20 Lesser grain borers in rice

Digital x-ray images obtained with Faxitron MX-20 Rice weevils in rice

Digital x-ray images obtained with Faxitron MX-20 Lesser grain borers in wheat

Digital x-rays are very rapid, but equipment is expensive and can scan only a 10 X 10 cm (4 X 4 inch) area at a time – ca. 5 grams of wheat or ca. 175 kernels

Electrically Conductive Mill

Electrically Conductive Mill - Commercial version processes 2 kg/min

Electrically Conductive Mill

Insect stage Detection rate 2nd or 3rd instar 74% 4th instar or pupae 83%

No false positives

• High detection rate for large larvae and pupae

and 0% false positive rate

• Only works for live insects because it measures

moisture; this could be a problem for grain that has been fumigated and destined for milling

• Able to inspect 2 kg in a minute with no sample

preparation

• Commercially available

Electrically Conductive Mill

Current studies are on ecology and control of psocids, an emerging pest of stored grain and processing, warehouse, and retail facilities, such as determining efficacy of heat, aerosols, and crack and crevice treatments for control

• r determining optimal

temperature and grain type for development.

% of original number of nymphs surviving to adults

Aerosol treatments

Control Methoprene Carrier EsfenvalerateCombined

% surviving to adults

20 40 60 80 100

Liposcelis entomophila

• Dr. Jim Throne
• Ecology

Most psocid pests of stored products are from the genus Liposcelis

• 7 species of Liposcelis and Lepinotus that are pests
• f stored products have been reported from the

U.S.; they don’t have common names and they are difficult to identify to species

• Lepinotus reticulatus, Liposcelis bostrychophila,

Liposcelis brunnea, Liposcelis corrodens, Liposcelis decolor, Liposcelis entomophila, and Liposcelis paeta

• The first two species are parthenogenetic

Grain samples

1 10 100 Bin 1 - 248 total psocids Bin 2 - 299 total psocids

Surface Refuges

1 10 100 1000 10000 Bin 1 - 14,829 total psocids Bin 2 - 18,786 total psocids

Hatch Refuges log(Number of psocids + 1)

1 10 100 1000 Bin 1 - 1,427 total psocids Bin 2 - 1,968 total psocids

Manual Insector Counts

10 100 1000 10000 Bin 1 - 45,284 total psocids Bin 2 - 32,218 total psocids

Electronic Insector Counts

Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar

10 100 1000 10000 Bin 1 - 29,902 total psocids Bin 2 - 35,153 total psocids

2005 Psocid trends – 115,059 psocids collected

95% FL (hours) at: Temperature (oC) Lepinotus reticulatus Liposcelis entomophila LT95 37.5 90.92 (93.00-102.35) 111.43 (100.19-126.88) 40.0 13.83 (12.59-15.56) 43.52 (39.90-48.23) 42.5 3.84 (3.50-4.36) 9.06 (6.96-15.68) 45.0 0.70 (0.67-0.74) 5.51 (5.16-5.95) 47.5 0.66 (0.63-0.70) 1.89 (1.81-1.99)

We determined how long it takes to kill adult psocids at different temperatures Psocids appear to be very susceptible to heat, particularly Lepinotus reticulatus, but they are known to leave a facility to escape fumigants

Chlorfenapyr and β-cyfluthrin provided efficient control of Liposcelis bostrychophila and L. entomophila at the label rates, unlike pyrethrin

Insecticide Liposcelis species LT95 (95% FL) [hours] β-Cyfluthrin entomophila 12.5 (11.7-13.6) bostrychophila 15.3 (14.6-16.2) Chlorfenapyr entomophila 5.1 (4.9-5.4) bostrychophila 7.7 (6.9-9.1) Pyrethrin entomophila 102.1 (94.6-112.5) bostrychophila 195.8 (158.3-280.1)

Chlorfenapyr is derived from a class of microbially-produced compounds

known as halogenated pyrroles; β-Cyfluthrin is a synthetic pyrethroid

20 40 60 80 100 1 1.5 2 4 6 8 10 12 24 48 96

20 40 60 80 100 1 1.5 2 4 6 8 10 12 24 48 96 20 40 60 80 100 1 1.5 2 4 6 8 10 12 24 48 96

mor t alit y (%) SF dose (g/ m3) Mean mor t alit y (% ± SE) of L. paet a adult s, nymphs, and eggs af t er 48 h of exposur e t o SF at var ious doses adult s nymphs eggs

Efficacy of sulfuryl fluoride for control of stored-product psocids

Dose to 100% kill of psocids after 48 h of exposure to SF

Dose (g/m3) Egg Nymph Adult Lepinotus reticulatus 24 4 8 Liposcelis bostrychophila

• 6

Liposcelis decolor 72

• 24

Liposcelis entomophila

• 6

4 Liposcelis paeta 96 6 6

• Dr. Jim Campbell
• Insect Behavior

Movement of self-marked warehouse beetle males in a food facility shows for the first time how insects can move from one part

• f a facility to another to

reinfest after treatments, such as fumigation.

• Dr. Jim Campbell
• Insect Behavior

Fumigation dates

Pest populations are being monitored in flour mills to determine the impact of fumigation treatments

• n the populations, and the

relationships between inside and

• utside populations with pheromone

trap capture and product infestation.

• Dr. Brenda Oppert
• Insect proteomics

We are looking at protein profiles of insects and how to exploit those proteins for insect control.

• Dr. Dick Beeman
• Insect genomics

The red flour beetle is the first agricultural pest to have its genome sequenced as a result of a collaboration between SPIRU, KSU, and the Baylor College of

• Medicine. We anticipate

that mining the genome will lead to totally new ways to control insect pests.

CHITIN SYNTHASE 2

LG5

marker cM

31.G5t 0.0

LG5

marker cM

31.G5t 0.0 51.7 35.B1s 32.O1s 36.I 1s 20C02 14A05 31.L5s

36.D10s 19.C3s 28.B16t 12E11 22.P3t 32.H2s PIG124 12C07 16B10 31.M1t 24.B1t 12G02 13G03 3F12 Txn049 PU123 32.H16s A81-2 43.9 40.1 44.5 44.5 45.2 46.8 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.8 48.1 46.8 53.4 50.4 51.7 49.8 49.8 54.0 54.0 51.7 54.0 51.7 27.P24t 51.7 C17A08 52.8 51.7 35.B1s 32.O1s 36.I 1s 20C02 14A05 31.L5s 36.D10s 19.C3s 28.B16t 12E11 22.P3t 32.H2s PIG124 PIG124 12C07 16B10 31.M1t 24.B1t 12G02 13G03 3F12 Txn049 PU123 PU123 32.H16s A81-2 43.9 40.1 44.5 44.5 45.2 46.8 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.8 48.1 46.8 53.4 50.4 51.7 49.8 49.8 54.0 54.0 51.7 54.0 51.7 27.P24t 51.7 C17A08 52.8

CHITIN SYNTHASE 1

cs1 46.8

CHITIN SYNTHASE 2

LG5

marker cM

31.G5t 0.0

LG5

marker cM

31.G5t 0.0 51.7 35.B1s 32.O1s 36.I 1s 20C02 14A05 31.L5s

36.D10s 19.C3s 28.B16t 12E11 22.P3t 32.H2s PIG124 12C07 16B10 31.M1t 24.B1t 12G02 13G03 3F12 Txn049 PU123 32.H16s A81-2 43.9 40.1 44.5 44.5 45.2 46.8 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.8 48.1 46.8 53.4 50.4 51.7 49.8 49.8 54.0 54.0 51.7 54.0 51.7 27.P24t 51.7 C17A08 52.8 51.7 35.B1s 32.O1s 36.I 1s 20C02 14A05 31.L5s 36.D10s 19.C3s 28.B16t 12E11 22.P3t 32.H2s PIG124 PIG124 12C07 16B10 31.M1t 24.B1t 12G02 13G03 3F12 Txn049 PU123 PU123 32.H16s A81-2 43.9 40.1 44.5 44.5 45.2 46.8 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.8 48.1 46.8 53.4 50.4 51.7 49.8 49.8 54.0 54.0 51.7 54.0 51.7 27.P24t 51.7 C17A08 52.8

LG5

marker cM

31.G5t 0.0

LG5

marker cM

31.G5t 0.0 51.7 35.B1s 32.O1s 36.I 1s 20C02 14A05 31.L5s

36.D10s 19.C3s 28.B16t 12E11 22.P3t 32.H2s PIG124 12C07 16B10 31.M1t 24.B1t 12G02 13G03 3F12 Txn049 PU123 32.H16s A81-2 43.9 40.1 44.5 44.5 45.2 46.8 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.8 48.1 46.8 53.4 50.4 51.7 49.8 49.8 54.0 54.0 51.7 54.0 51.7 27.P24t 51.7 C17A08 52.8 51.7 35.B1s 32.O1s 36.I 1s 20C02 14A05 31.L5s 36.D10s 19.C3s 28.B16t 12E11 22.P3t 32.H2s PIG124 PIG124 12C07 16B10 31.M1t 24.B1t 12G02 13G03 3F12 Txn049 PU123 PU123 32.H16s A81-2 43.9 40.1 44.5 44.5 45.2 46.8 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.8 48.1 46.8 53.4 50.4 51.7 49.8 49.8 54.0 54.0 51.7 54.0 51.7 27.P24t 51.7 C17A08 52.8

CHITIN SYNTHASE 1

cs1 46.8

Chitinase gene knockout by RNA inhibition (RNAi) normal

• ne chitinase

knocked out

Sixteen chitinase genes have been found via

• genomics. The figure

shows results of inhibition of just one of these genes. The other 15 chitinases are still functional, yet the insect can’t molt and dies because it can’t digest the old cuticle, which therefore remains thick and stiff so the insect becomes entrapped when it tries to shed this

• ld cuticle.

Cuticle cross-linking gene knocked out by RNAi

vacuum-pack de-aeration of food

There are 14 yellow genes involved in cuticle tanning and hardening. The cuticle-crosslinking gene yellow-e is required for waterproofing of the

• cuticle. Knockout of yellow-e results in loss of the waterproofing function of

the exoskeleton and in rapid desiccation and death. The insect becomes “vacuum-packed” in its own skin.

normal yellow-e gene knocked out

DNA fingerprinting for population/infestation analysis

individual #1 individual #2

Individual B differs from A at 2 positions out of 23 in this DNA segment. There are 6 million

• ther segments of this length in the genome.

DNA fingerprints

• f six beetles from

the same warehouse, showing 3 different genotypes, A, B & C

A A B B B C

to applied research from basic research SPIRU covers all areas

• f stored-product

entomological research:

Get further information and download publications at http://ars.usda.gov/npa/gmprc/spiru