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Colorado
Potato Beetles May Succumb to the GlowBy Sharon Durham October 26, 2001A glowing bacterium called
Photorhabdus luminescens reduced Colorado potato beetles by 100 percent
in lab studies conducted by scientists with the
Agricultural Research Service, making it
a prime biocontrol candidate against this pesky beetle that attacks potatoes
and other crops. While studying bacteria to combat the beetle, microbiologist Phyllis Martin
at the ARS Insect Biocontrol
Laboratory, Beltsville, Md., found a strain of P. luminescens that
outshone the competition. She received it from entomologist Michael Blackburn.
At the Beltsville lab, Blackburn is investigating some of the toxins P.
luminescens produces as potential biocontrols, while Martin is looking at
the whole bacteria to control the beetle. P. luminescens has a long history of interesting roles; it was
suspected of causing wounds of some Civil War combatants to glow, thus
providing a curative effect against infections caused by other microbes. It
appears P. luminescens causes the beetles to stop eating, though the
scientists dont know why. The potato beetle is notorious for developing resistance to insecticides, so
ARS scientists are seeking non-chemical controls as possible natural
insecticides. However, bacterial testing in beetles is difficult because
beetles eat only in specific conditions that include particular temperature
margins present in the field. So ARS scientists developed an artificial diet for the beetles, a tool that
will help researchers study this pest insect. Colorado potato beetle larvae
cause most of the plant damage, because at this stage they chew--and
eat--incessantly. Since some pest insects are showing resistance to insecticides, scientists
are seeking microbes such as P. luminescens as alternatives. Scientists
will conduct more tests to determine the mechanism of control and if P.
luminescens can successfully be transferred from the lab to the field. ARS is the chief scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. U.S. Department of Agriculture |