COLLEGE STATION — The nightmare continues for Florida citrus growers, according to one of many speakers who addressed a biotechnology conference at the George Bush Library at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Ricke Kress, president of Southern Gardens, a large citrus grower and juice producer in southern Florida, spoke recently at the North American Agricultural Biotechnology Council’s 25th annual conference in College Station. (AgriLife Communications photo by John Chivvis)

“Citrus trees are crashing,” said Ricke Kress, president of Southern Gardens, a large citrus grower and juice producer in southern Florida who spoke recently at the North American Agricultural Biotechnology Council’s 25th annual conference.

“We’re experiencing a 15 percent loss of fruit that’s falling off our trees,” he said. “These trees have been stressed by adverse weather conditions, which was exacerbated by citrus greening disease. By dropping fruit, trees are doing what they have to do to survive, but is this going to be a trend? We have to wait and see, but this could lead to a supply crisis.”

Kress addressed the potential of disease-resistant transgenic citrus trees, developed by Dr. Erik Mirkov, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant pathologist in Weslaco, to overcome greening, an incurable bacterial disease that clogs a tree’s vascular system. Fruit fails to mature — thus, the name citrus greening — and trees eventually die.

“It’s not like testing a new variety of corn that can be planted, tested and go forward,” he said. “It takes time, years, for citrus trees to mature and produce fruit. So, to reach a point of solution, we’re working on several programs concurrently.”

Kress said the issue is being addressed on four fronts simultaneously: research, regulatory, agricultural and consumer.

“Research to find a solution,” he said. “In regulatory, we’re preparing proposals to get the solution approved. Agriculture? We need to grow the trees. And consumers? We need to make sure consumers understand that the technology being developed is safe. If we don’t have consumer confidence, it doesn’t matter what we come up with.”

The conference, “Biotechnology and North American Specialty Crops: Linking Research, Regulation and Stakeholders,” was held June 4-6.

The three-day event gathered stakeholders to discuss effective means of moving fruit and vegetable crops improved through biotechnology from laboratories and research field plots to consumers, according to Dr. Bill McCutchen, executive associate director of AgriLife Research in College Station.

“Citrus is just one example,” McCutchen said. “Through the use of biotechnology, scientists have developed improved varieties of apples, pineapples, potatoes, squash and other specialty crops with disease resistance and other favorable traits.

“Fruits and vegetables are the next wave of transgenic food crops that will provide a way to help producers keep pace with world population growth,” he said.

Stakeholders, including scientific researchers, government officials and industry leaders such as Kress, discussed the role of biotechnology and regulatory policy in improving agriculture, McCutchen said.

By moving genetic material from spinach, Mirkov developed citrus trees that show potential resistance to citrus greening and are now being field tested at Southern Gardens.

“We’ve set up field trials since 2009, and trials continue with new variations of transgenic trees,” Kress said. “We’re letting Mother Nature tell us how well those trees work. But that takes time. And depending on variables, some trees survive, some don’t. But that’s science.”

While there is no clear-cut solution to citrus greening yet, there is hope, Kress said.

“We’re getting close. It looks promising. It’s positive, and we’re making progress, but we’re still working on a solution.”

In his talk, Kress provided an overview of citrus greening’s effect on the Florida citrus industry.

“It spread very quickly,” he said. “Greening was first confirmed in Florida in 2005 and in three years had been found in every citrus-producing county of the state. There are no formal surveys being taken today, but the consensus is that every citrus grove in Florida has greening to some degree. No one can say they don’t have greening.”

Southern Gardens Citrus has lost some 700,000 trees to the disease, Kress said.

“We’ve lost 25 to 28 percent of our total acreage since the disease was detected,” he said. “It’s a tough one. We remove trees when infection is found, but not all growers follow the same practice. They try nutritional programs and other efforts to maintain and extend the life of the tree. But by doing so, are we increasing the rate of infection to other trees? There are more questions than answers at this point.”

The disease is spread from tree to tree by the Asian citrus psyllid, an insect that growers should assume is in their fields, Kress said.

“Some growers spray insecticides only after they find psyllids,” he said. “That’s too late. Growers should put their spray program in place to take care of it.”

Despite greening’s magnitude, Kress remains optimistic.

“We’re gonna figure it out,” he said. “We will find a solution, somewhere, somehow.”

COLLEGE STATION – With no farm background, Jasmine Dillon credits her high school agriculture classes in getting a start in the study of food and fiber systems. Never did she think she would be part of a national student delegation seeking solutions to solving world food production issues.

Dillon, an animal breeding graduate student in the department of animal science, part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, recently was selected to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ “Next Generation Delegation,” which includes the nation’s outstanding students who’ve made a commitment to feeding a growing world population.

As part the delegation, Dillon attended The Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium in Washington, D.C. She returned home with a host of ideas and concerns on how the world will meet future challenges of feeding an expected 9 billion people worldwide by 2050.

Jasmine Dillon, an animal breeding graduate student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University. (Texas A&M AgriLife Communications photo by Blair Fannin)

“I came back with a clearer idea about where we are headed,” she said. “First, there will always be challenges with finite resources such as land and water. The climate is changing.  It’s estimated that there are currently about 870 million people who are chronically hungry. It’s widely projected that there will be about 9 billion people and a 60 percent increase in global food demand by 2050, and there’s a growing middle class with growing demand for protein in their diets.

“Second, increased funding for agricultural research is needed. China has surpassed every country in the amount of money used to fund public agricultural research. Brazil has also rapidly expanded its agricultural research spending.”

Though not part of the selection criteria, Dillon’s selection was likely aided by the production of “Farmers Fight – Stand Up,” a YouTube video http://youtu.be/yFoGib8AfZo featuring a poem written by Dillon and produced by Wieghat Graphics.The video seeks to raise awareness of how agriculture plays a critical role in the daily lives of people  globally.

Dillon said one of the biggest “take aways” from the conference was the push for increased partnerships among non-governmental organizations, government and the private sector.

Her interests also expand into nutritional security.

“I like to think of it as helping the world feed itself, as opposed to simply feeding the world,” she said. “This could be done through continued agricultural development in areas such as Africa, India, and China. In order to do this, we need collaboration across disciplines, innovation in science and technology, and development of human capacity in these countries. Of course, after you leave, the country needs to be able to carry on independently with implementing the technology.”

Dillon said she has always enjoyed working with computers and recording data.

“I used to program graphing calculators as a kid,” she said. “I didn’t grow up on a ranch, but I’ve always loved animals. What I’m really becoming interested in is bioinformatics and mathematical modeling.  It’s something like a combination of the two.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Her interest in agriculture began at Plano East High School after raising livestock through the FFA.

“I couldn’t have a dog, so I took a canine science course,” she said. “I later showed rabbits at the county show and eventually showed a goat and steer.”

She said if it weren’t for agriculture classes offered in high school, she would never have pursued collegiate studies in the field, especially not having grown up on a farm. After transferring to Texas A&M, she took a study abroad trip to Brazil and went to the International Meat Secretariat Regional Meat Conference.

“It was at the conference that I realized the magnitude of our world hunger problem and how I as an animal scientist was being trained to help address that problem,” she said.

Dillon, who will graduate with her master’s degree in December, is already considering pursuit of a doctoral degree. She’d like to focus on using modeling to develop livestock production systems in developing countries.

“Ultimately, I’d like to work with developing countries to build production systems that are sustainable whether it is cattle, sheep or other types of livestock.”

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COLLEGE STATION — Key players will converge on Texas A&M University June 4-6 to chart the course for the release of improved fruits and vegetables designed to head off deadly plant diseases and lead the world to a second Green Revolution, according to Dr. Bill McCutchen, executive associate director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research.

Dr. Erik Mirkov, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant pathologist, has developed a disease-resistant transgenic citrus tree. It is one of many fruits and vegetables improved through biotechnology to be discussed at the upcoming North American Agricultural Biotechnology Council’s 25th annual conference June 4-6 in College Station. (AgriLife Communications photo by Rod Santa Ana)

The North American Agricultural Biotechnology Council’s 25th annual conference, “Biotechnology and North American Specialty Crops: Linking Research, Regulation and Stakeholders,” will be held at the George Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M, College Station.

Stakeholders, including scientific researchers, government officials and industry leaders, will gather to discuss the role of biotechnology and regulatory policy in improving agriculture to continue feeding a growing world population, according to McCutchen.

“Recent coverage in the national news media is reporting the very real possibility of the end of orange juice, due to citrus greening, an incurable plant disease that’s ravaging the Florida citrus industry,” McCutchen said. “But biotechnology has overcome that so-called incurable disease in a way traditional plant breeding cannot.”

By moving genetic material from spinach to citrus, Dr. Erik Mirkov, an AgriLife Research scientist in South Texas, has developed a citrus tree resistant to citrus greening, McCutchen said.

“And that’s just one example,” he said. “Through the use of biotechnology, scientists have developed improved, transgenic varieties of apples, pineapples, potatoes, squash and other specialty crops with disease resistance and other favorable traits.”

Fruits and vegetables are the next wave of transgenic food crops that will provide a way to help producers keep pace with world population growth, McCutchen said.

“This conference will link those scientists working in biotechnology throughout North America with industry leaders and individuals in regulatory agencies to get these products to consumers so we don’t wake up to a morning some day without orange juice or other food products that keep us healthy.”

Keynote speakers include Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples; Roger Beachy, president emeritus, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, Mo.; and Brett Giroir, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives, Texas A&M University System.

Some 20 speakers, made up of CEOs, directors and officials of private enterprise, public policy groups, major universities, producers and government agencies will address the conference on their perspectives on moving transgenic plant material from the laboratory and research field plots to consumers.

For a complete list of speakers, go to the conference website at http://nabc25.tamu.edu/ .

A panel discussion will be led by Steve Pueppke, associate vice president for research and graduate studies, Michigan State University. Panelists include McCutchen; Tony Shelton, professor, department of entomology, Cornell University; Gregory Jaffe, director, Biotechnology Project Center for Science in the Public Interest; and Neal Carter, president/founder, Okanagan Specialty Fruits.

Registration is $350; student registration is $175. Participation is limited to the first 300 registrations.

To register go to https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/events/details.cfm?id=1213 .

For more information, contact Rusty Carter at 979-845-4272 or email Rusty.Carter@tamu.edu .

SAN ANTONIO — The 4-H and youth development program of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Bexar County will hold two “FUNtastic” Adventure Camps this summer in San Antonio.

Hands-on learning activities will be among program  offerings at the ‘FUNTastic’ Adventure Camps being held this summer by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)

The first camp will take place June 26-27 and the second will take place Aug 20-21. Camp days begin from 8:30-9 a.m., with check-in and field trip preparations at the AgriLife Extension office, Suite 208 of Conroy Square, 3355 Cherry Ridge Drive. Camp days end upon the return to the office at approximately 4 p.m. on both days.

“Both of these will be fun-filled camps with a variety of interactive, hands-on individual and group activities and presentations, field trips and a take-home package of materials, “ said Mike Shockey, youth outreach educator, Bexar County 4-H.

Shockey said topics to be covered at the camps include: wildlife, entomology, math skills, science, technology, healthy lifestyles, food and nutrition, and developing useful life skills and a respect for the environment. He added that the camps will include some interesting field trips and tours.

“This year’s camps will include a tour of the Toyota of Texas Assembly Plant, a field trip the Witte Museum for the ‘Dinosaurs Unearthed’ exhibit and a behind-the–scenes tour of an H-E-B grocery store,” Shockey said.

 Presentations and activities will include Mental Math Wizardry, a snake and wildlife exhibit by the South Texas Herpetology Association, and a VIA Classroom On Wheels technology and environmental science presentation. Camps are limited to a maximum of 20 students, ages 8-13. The cost is $35 per child, and the agenda for both two-day camps is the same.

A sub sandwich lunch is included the first day of camp, and a pizza lunch is included the second day. In addition, healthy snacks will be provided both days.

For more information and a registration form, go to  http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu. For additional information, contact Shockey at 210-467-6575 or meshockey@ag.tamu.edu.

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The 4-H team, consisting of Matt Janecka, 17, his brother Mark, 13, and Daniel Kelton,16, was one of 735 teams entering the challenge, which is touted as the world’s largest student rocket contest.

The first-place Georgetown 4-H rocketry team consisted of, left to right, Matt Janecka, Mark Janecka and Daniel Kelton. The team is shown here with their long-time model rocketry mentor James Duffy. (Photo courtesy of Kimberly Janecka)

The Aerospace Industries Association, National Association of Rocketry and more than 24 industry partners cooperated to present this year’s event. Each year, the challenge, designed to motivate students toward careers in aerospace, draws in thousands of seventh to 12th grade students.

“This year 735 teams, our most since 2003 and representing over 4,000 students, entered TARC 2013 from 44 states,” said Arthur “Trip” Barber, former National Association of Rocketry president and founder of the challenge. Barber was instrumental in establishing the partnership between the rocketry association, the Team America challenge and 4-H at a national level.

“Four hundred and seventy (teams) made at least one qualification flight attempt, which also was our most ever, and the 100 teams that came to the finals represented 29 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands,” Barber said.

Two other 4-H teams – one from Kentucky and one from Michigan — placed in the top 10 and a total of five 4-H teams placed among the top 25 contest winners.

Prior to the challenge, teams of three to 10 students worked for months to design and build their rockets, based on aerospace industry design, fabrication and testing processes. Team members collaborated to meet specific design parameters and objectives.

The challenge required teams to achieve “mission-oriented” goals, including climbing to an exact altitude, landing within a specific flight-time window and returning an undamaged payload to earth. The payload, which in this case was a raw egg, was to be launched to an exact altitude of 750 feet and returned to earth unbroken within a 48-50 second time frame, using a 14- to 16-inch parachute. A unique task is included in each year’s challenge, and this year’s task was to transport the egg horizontally.

The Georgetown 4-H team placed first with a combined score of 29.24 in what contest coordinators said was one of the most competitive final fly-offs in the history of the challenge.

The team achieved a combined score of 29.24 at the end of the rocketry challenge to put them into first place. (Photo courtesy of Amy Janecka)

“We actually started our project in August of last year,” said Kelton, a sophomore at East View High School in Georgetown. “We used a computer program to help with the design and made 40-50 rocket test flights. Probably our biggest design challenge was transitioning from a larger tube to hold the egg horizontally to a smaller one that would reduce the amount of drag during the flight.”

Kelton said while the project itself was fun, he also enjoyed meeting other young people with similar interests.

“It was really cool meeting these other students who were interested in math and science and talking to them about their projects,” he said.

Matt Janecka also enjoyed the camaraderie and ability to meet others interested in aerospace at the challenge.

“It was fun talking to other team members about their designs,” he said. “I’ve always been interested in aerospace engineering, and my 4-H club manager was the one who got me involved in rocketry.”

Janecka said he used to build remote-control airplanes from scratch, so rocketry was a natural transition for his interest in aeronautics.

Youngest team member Mark Janecka was in charge of rocket design for the project.

“I used a CAD program to do the initial design and then the other two tweaked my design,” he said. “It was fun working with my brother and my friend in designing the rocket.”

He admitted, however, that his favorite part of rocketry was the launch.

“It’s great to stand there and press a button and watch the rocket go up into the sky,” he said.

The launch itself is the favorite part for many model rocket hobbyists. Team members from Georgetown 4-H estimated they made 40-50 test flights before competing at the national challenge. (Photo courtesy of Amy Janecka)

Georgetown 4-H club manager Laura Epps said the club has had a very active aerospace and rocketry component for years, but also has programs and activities related to robotics, food and nutrition, animal science, photography, public speaking, horticulture, housing and more.

“Matt has been a real leader as team captain for the rocketry team over the past three years, and Mark went from ‘team mascot’ to full-fledged team member this year,” she said. “All three of the boys apply the teamwork and character traits we strive to promote through 4-H, and I know they appreciate the opportunities it has provided them to grow and develop.”

James Duffy, a retired Apple sales executive and 40-plus-year rocket hobbyist who has mentored the three 4-H’ers since the spring of 2011, said the team’s work ethic was the foremost reason for their winning at a national level.

“They got together frequently to discuss issues and were always methodical in their data collection and analysis,” he said. “During launches, they accounted for all the variables and kept detailed analyses using their math skills. In addition, all three have learned some valuable fabrication skills from their fathers, who are themselves exceptional craftsmen.”

Duffy added that he was impressed with the improvement in the quality and refinement of the team’s designs and rocketry work.

“Just over the past two years, the boys have gone from novices to rocketry experts,” he said.

As a result of taking the title of national champion, the Georgetown 4-H team has been given the opportunity to travel to Paris to represent the U.S. at the “international fly-off” on June 21 at the 50th annual Paris Air Show — the world’s oldest and largest aviation show.

In the meantime, for other seventh- through 12th graders interested in aerospace, Matt Janecka is coordinating a rocket-building workshop July 11-12 at the AgriLife Extension office in Williamson County, with a launch to be held July 13, weather permitting.

With the win at the national challenge, the Georgetown 4-H rocketry team now will go on to represent the U.S. at the 50th annual Paris Air Show this summer. (Photo courtesy of Kimberly Janecka)

“The teamwork and dedication by Matt, Mark and Daniel shows what can be accomplished with skill, focus and determination,” said Megan Kruger, AgriLife Extension agent for 4-H and youth development, Williamson County. “We’re very proud that the Georgetown 4-H team will be representing the U.S. at the air show in Paris this summer.”

According to Aerospace Industries Association president and CEO Marion Blakey, the Team America Rocketry Challenge has inspired thousands of bright young minds to expand their interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics over the past 11 years.

That is true with the Janecka brothers and Kelton, as each of them said he plans to pursue a career in aerospace engineering or a similar field.

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]]> http://today.agrilife.org/2013/05/20/georgetown-4-h-rocketry/feed/ 0 http://today.agrilife.org/2013/05/08/mango-breast-cancer-research/ http://today.agrilife.org/2013/05/08/mango-breast-cancer-research/#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 14:49:19 +0000 Paul Schattenberg http://today.agrilife.org/?p=34281 Texas A&M researchers investigate cancer-fighting properties of mango

COLLEGE STATION – In addition to being one of the most important tropical fruits consumed worldwide, recent studies by researchers at the Institute for Obesity Research and Program Evaluation at Texas A&M University in College Station have shown that mangos also may help prevent breast cancer.

“We wanted to investigate the anti-inflammatory and cell-toxicity properties of mango polyphenols on breast cancer and non-cancer cells,” said Dr. Susanne Talcott, director for research at the institute and assistant professor, nutrition and food science department, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

A team of scientists from the Texas A&M University System recently completed two studies on how mango polyphenols may affect cancer and non-cancer breast cells. (Photo courtesy Institute for Obesity Research and Program Evaluation, Texas A&M )

“There was already some research done showing that polyphenolic compounds, such as those found in the mango, have cancer-fighting properties,” said Talcott, who also works in conjunction with Texas A&M AgriLife Research.  “Those compounds appear to have antioxidant properties that may contribute to decrease oxidative stress, which can lead to the onset of chronic diseases such as cancer. In addition to that, polyphenolics have been shown to be anti-inflammatory.

“We recently completed one in vitro study and one using mice to see if the polyphenols found in mango did, in fact, exhibit inflammation- and cancer-fighting properties.”

Breast breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death among women, and diet has been shown to have a preventive or protective role against several types of cancer, Talcott said.

“It has been estimated that around 30 percent of cancers may be prevented with a healthy lifestyle and diet,” she noted.

Talcott said interest in mango has been increasing in recent years and experimental data has already shown bioactive compounds present in mangoes exert anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, antiviral and antibacterial properties.

“This is due to the presence of botanical compounds such as phenolic acids and flavonoids, and carotenoids,” she said.

Talcott said several dietary polyphenols already have been tested to determine their potential role in growth inhibition, proliferation and destruction of breast cancer cells.

“Based on this premise, we extracted mango polyphenols and tested their effects in vitro, or separate from their normal biological context, on commercially obtained non-cancer and cancer  breast cells,” she said.

The mango used for the study, the Keitt variety of Mangifera indica, was provided by the National Mango Board, and polyphenolics were extracted from these.

Both non-cancer and cancer breast cells were treated with mango polyphenolics at different concentrations, and results were shown in Gallic acid equivalents per milliliter, or ug GAE/ml, of liquid sample.

Kimberley Krenek, Ph.D. student, left, and Dr. Hercia Stampini, visiting professor from Brazil, make cell cultures for mango research. (Photo courtesy Institute for Obesity Research and Program Evaluation, Texas A&M)

The study showed that at 5 ug GAE/ml mango Keitt polyphenols decreased sample breast cancer cell proliferation by approximately 90 percent, and at the same concentration, decreased the proliferation of sample non-cancer cells by approximately 20 percent.

“These results of the study indicate that the cell-killing effects of mango polyphenols are specific to cancer cells, where inflammation was reduced in both cancer and non-cancer cells, seemingly through the involvement of miRNA-21 — short microRNA molecules associated with cancer,” Talcott said.

She said the research also showed mango polyphenols exerted anti-inflammatory activity and reduced the expression of miRNA-21, depending on the amount used.

A second study by this research group using hairless mice showed mango polyphenols also suppressed cell proliferation in the breast cancer BT474 cell line and tumor growth in mice with human breast carcinoma cells transplanted into them.

“The tumor-fighting potential of mango polyphenolics may at least in part be based on those same properties which reduced cancer cell proliferation and reduce inflammation that may be involved in carcinogenesis,” Talcott said.

She said the mango polyphenols in the mice study also reduced expression of a cell-regulating protein that affects cell oxygen absorption. And a preliminary microRNA profile screening showed the polyphenols also targeted several microRNA important to cancer-cell proliferation.

“The earlier in vitro study and the study using the mice have moved us closer to determining whether mango polyphenols will have cancer-fighting effects on human beings,” Talcott said. “So far, the indications are positive, but a lot of work will have to be done to determine the actual concentration of mango metabolites in target tissues.”

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Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu

Contact: Dr. Giri Athrey, 979-845-1885, gathrey@tmail.com

COLLEGE STATION – Malaria is responsible for about 700,000 deaths annually in sub-Saharan Africa alone, and a team of Texas A&M University researchers is doing their best to help stem this perpetual tide of human suffering.

Dr. Giridhar “Giri” Athrey, post-doctoral associate with Texas A&M’s department of entomology vector biology group, is the lead author of a study recently published in the open-access journal PloS Genetics http://www.plosgenetics.org/doi/pgen.1003097 .

The research aims for the first time to accurately measure pre-and post-control mosquito populations using DNA technology.

The nine-member team is led by Dr. Michel Slotman in Texas A&M’s department of entomology, and also includes Dr. Theresa Hodges of that department.

The team demonstrated for the first time through replicated studies that two vector control programs – spraying and pesticide-treated bed nets – have dramatically reduced malaria transmitting mosquito populations.

“Malaria is a disease transmitted by female mosquitoes in the genus Anopheles,” Athrey said. “Several control strategies have been used over the past 40 to 50 years to combat mosquito populations with varying degrees of success. One of the reasons malaria is so difficult to defeat is that Anopheles gambiae, the primary carrier or ‘vector,’ has a high preference for human blood meals, and relatively low densities of this vector can maintain high rates of infection among humans.”

Athrey said one of the main aims of anti-vector programs is to eventually eradicate mosquito populations, but more immediately to reduce them to very low numbers, translating into reduced malaria transmission. This is usually done with insecticides. The problem is assessing how well a control measure is actually working, and if several control measures are being tried, to determine which is the most effective.

“It’s often very difficult using conventional population monitoring methods, such as counting trapped mosquitoes, to know to what extent the insecticide has had an impact,” he said. “That’s what this whole study centers around, accurately measuring mosquito populations to determine whether vector control has been effective and which control regimes are the most effective, thus saving the most lives.”

Athrey said measuring mosquito populations is fraught with difficulties. Traditional counting and trapping methods can be difficult to compare, or may be subject to large fluctuations due to the weather. The insect’s complex life cycle also complicates the issue, so populations can fluctuate wildly with changing seasonal conditions.

In contrast to previous attempts, this study demonstrates that the approach taken has the power to detect mosquito population size changes across relatively short time periods, he said. Importantly, two negative control populations from Cameroon and Mali, which experienced no vector control, showed constant or slightly increasing mosquito populations.

The paper stems from two malaria control programs in Equatorial Guinea. The first was initiated on Bioko Island in 2004. A second program was later started on the country’s mainland in 2007. The programs included both spraying and pesticide-treated bed nets.

“We used DNA data from 1,500 mosquito samples taken from 2004-2010 for three species and seven sites spread across the country,” he said. “We then integrated this data with recently developed computational approaches to accurately estimate the effective population sizes both before and after widespread mosquito control was carried out.”

They found that six of the seven sampled populations from different sites were reduced from 55-85 percent following the start of the control programs.

“This study provides key insights into how mosquito populations respond to indoor residual spraying and insecticide treated-bed nets over time, a hitherto poorly understood aspect of malaria mosquito biology,” Athrey said. “That’s important, because it not only informs ongoing field operations about the impact the control program is having, but also indicates the limits of what can be achieved with existing approaches. This study also demonstrates the utility of genetic approaches to rapidly assess the success of a vector control program.

“In the Equatorial Guinea study, we found that both spraying and insecticide-treated nets resulted in much reduced population sizes of mosquitoes, compared to population sizes before vector control programs began. And truthfully, reliable data like that is needed to improve existing vector control programs, which ultimately helps save more lives, and that is what we are interested in.”

Other team members contributing to this study were: Dr. Michael Reddy, department epidemiology and public health, and Dr. Adalgisa Caccone, department of ecology and evolutionary biology, both at Yale University; Dr. Hans Overgaard, department of mathematical sciences and technology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, As, Norway; Dr. Abrahan Matias, Medical Care Development International, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; Frances Ridl, Malaria Research Lead Programme, Medical Research Council, Durban, South Africa; and Dr. Immo Kleinschmidt, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London.

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COLLEGE STATION – According to the Centers for Disease Control, about one in six Americans gets food poisoning each year. Additionally, virus infection risks from consumption of raw oysters in the U.S. are estimated to cost around $200 million a year.

Results of a recent study by Texas A&M University System personnel and others on the effects of electron beam irradiation on viruses in raw oysters will be published in the June issue of the Applied and Environmental Microbiology journal. (U.S. Department of Agriculture — Agricultural Research Service photo by David Kingsley)

To address the issue of health risk from eating raw oysters, Texas A&M University graduate student Chandni Praveen, along with Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist Dr. Suresh Pillai and a team of researchers from other agencies and institutions, studied how electron-beam pasteurization of raw oysters may reduce the possibility of food poisoning through virus.

Other entities involved in the study included the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and University of Texas School of Public Health-El Paso regional campus.

The results of this study will be published in the June issue of the leading microbiology journal, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

“The study was performed using a human norovirus surrogate called murine norovirus (NoV), and a hepatitis A (HAV) virus along with advanced quantitative microbial risk assessment tools,” explained Pillai, professor of microbiology and director of the National Center for Electron Beam Research at Texas A&M University. “A salient feature of e-beam pasteurization technology is that it uses commercial electricity to generate the ionizing radiation that inactivates the viruses. It is a green technology because no chemicals are involved.”

Pillai said the FDA already has approved the use of electron beam technology as a pathogen intervention strategy to control the naturally occurring Vibrio vulnificus bacterial pathogen in shellfish.

According to the FDA, raw oysters contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus can be life threatening or even fatal when eaten by someone with liver disease, diabetes or a weakened immune system.

“We’re all for any means of technology that enhances the safety of our product,” said Sal Sunseri, co-owner of P&J Oysters and a representative of the Louisiana Oyster Dealers and Growers Association. “While we provide a safe product, we know there are at-risk groups, and that processing methods like freezing, high-pressure treatment and electron-beam irradiation reduce or eliminate the risk for those groups and enhance the overall safety of our product.”

At this time, however, electron-beam technology is not being used for commercial oysters sold in the U.S.

“For the study, we chose the norovirus and hepatitis A virus, as these are pathogenic threats to those consuming shellfish, and chose oysters as they are a type of mollusk that’s more commonly eaten raw,” said Praveen, a doctoral candidate in the toxicology program of the Food Safety and Environmental Microbiology Laboratory at Texas A&M.

Praveen said she and the other researchers also chose the viral pathogens as opposed to bacterial as they were more difficult to treat and also require a host species.

“Bivalves such as oysters are also filter feeders that obtain their food by pumping water through their system and filtering small organisms,” she said. “This can lead to the possible accumulation of NoV and HAV viral pathogens, as well as bacterial pathogens.”

Pillai said non-thermal food processing technologies are needed to reduce these infection risks.

“This is the first study that has attempted to quantify the reduction in infection risks of raw oysters contaminated with different levels of virus when pasteurized at FDA-approved doses,” he said.

Pillai said that the study showed if a serving size of 12 raw oysters were contaminated with approximately 100 hepatitis A and human noroviruses, an e-beam dose of 5 kGy (kilograys) would achieve a 91 percent reduction of hepatitis A infection risks and a 26 percent reduction of norovirus infection risks. A kilogray is a unit of absorbed energy from ionizing radiation.

Pillai said the study showed that if electron-beam pasteurization technology was included as part of a comprehensive food safety plan to reduce illnesses from raw oysters, significant public health benefits and, by extension, significant savings in medical and related expenses due to foodborne illness, can occur.

The study can be found in the June issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology or online at the American Society of Microbiology website, http://aem.asm.org.

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COLLEGE STATION – Conflict and Development at Texas A&M University in College Station will feature a lecture by a lead science and technology adviser from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The lecture will be held at 9 a.m. May 2 at the AgriLife Center, 600 John Kimbrough Blvd., Texas A&M University, College Station.

Dr. Alex Dehgan, science and technology adviser to the administrator of the agency, will present “Transforming International Development through Science, Technology, and Innovation.”

Conflict and Development is a member of the agency’s Higher Education Solutions Network — a partnership which aims to utilize academic institutions to help fuel research and progress in tackling our world’s most challenging development problems.

As one of seven institutions selected to join the network, Conflict and Development seeks to improve the effectiveness of development solutions for conflict-affected and fragile countries.

Conflict and Development is additionally supported by the H.G. Buffett Foundation Chair on Conflict and Development, housed in the department of agricultural economics at Texas A&M University. The program is a partnership among the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Bush School of Government and the School of Rural Public Health in The Texas A&M Health Science Center.

WHAT:  Conflict & Development at Texas A&M University is hosting a lecture featuring Dr. Alex Dehgan, science and technology adviser to the administrator at USAID. Dehgan is USAID’s chief scientist and provides guidance for the agency in the areas of science, technology and creativity to help solve development challenges.

WHEN: 9 a.m., May 2, The AgriLife Center, 600 John Kimbrough Blvd., Texas A&M University, College Station.

Media Contact: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, or b-fannin@tamu.edu , or Vicente Partida III, communications manager, 979-209-0122, vince.partida@tamu.edu

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SAN ANTONIO – If there’s a large, gray ball-shaped nest in your tree, the insects inside likely aren’t bees but Mexican honey wasps, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologist in San Antonio.

Many residents in the lower portion of the state have reported large, gray football- or basketball-shaped nests in their trees. These are most likely honey wasp nests, according to the AgriLife Extension entomologist in Bexar County. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Molly Keck)

“I’ve been getting a lot more calls than normal from people throughout Bexar County saying they’re finding large round nests in trees on their property,” said Molly Keck, AgriLife Extension integrated pest management specialist for Bexar County.  “They’re worried they have bees nesting in their trees, but these are probably honey wasps. These wasps are smaller than bees – about the same size as a housefly — and are non-aggressive.”

These wasps can easily be distinguished from bees, Keck said.

“They’re not hairy like bees,” she said, “and in addition to being much smaller, honey wasps are nearly all black and don’t have any of the typical bee markings.”

Keck said the Mexican honey wasp, Brachygastra mellifica, is a social species that builds paper nests in the canopies of trees and shrubs.

“By contrast, honey bees in the wild tend to colonize more in the cavities of large trees or openings in walls or overhangs as opposed to building nests in trees,” Keck noted.

While there are 16 different species of Mexican honey wasps, only one species has been reported in Texas, she said.

“However, in addition to the south and south-central portion of Texas, they’re found throughout Mexico and Central America,” she said.

Honey wasp colonies can become quite large, with some containing several thousand wasps, Keck said.

 “It can cause concern when people see a large basketball- or football-shaped nest attached to the branches of a tree or shrub,” she said. “But these wasps typically live peacefully with their human neighbors. However, if you climb into the tree or throw rocks at the nest or squirt it with water or do something else disruptive, the wasps will become irritated and that will increase your chance of being stung.”

Keck said walking past a tree harboring a wasp nest, mowing the lawn, closing a car door or going about regular outdoor activities will largely go unnoticed by the wasps.

“Mexican honey wasps are considered beneficial insects, much like honey bees,” she said. “They are nectar gatherers, pollinators, and have been known to predate on harmful insects such as the Asian citrus psyllid, which has been identified as a vector for citrus greening disease.”

Recently, a small team of researchers from London led by Dr. Ellouise Leadbeater, a research fellow from the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, came to the Lower Rio Grande Valley and South Central Texas to study honey wasps. Leadbeater and her team were headquartered  at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Uvalde.

“We were interested in studying honey wasps as they are the only wasp to produce honey on a large scale and are a distant relative of the honey bee,” she said. “We had put out the word that we wanted to do this research, and got our best response from the Uvalde center.”

Leadbeater said she is investigating the genetic makeup of the honey wasp to see if the genes that make this species behave the way it does are the same or similar to genes that influence the behavior of  the honey bee.

“Understanding similarities in the genetics of the two species could help provide insights into how changes to one species would likely affect the other,” she said. “For example, if someone is developing a pesticide they want to be sure doesn’t negatively affect honey-bee populations, knowing that the genetic makeup of honey wasps is similar would help them determine whether it would have a similar effect on those populations as well.”

So far, Leadbeater and her team have investigated about 10 honey wasp nests in South Central Texas, located with the help of sighting reports from the Uvalde center. The center received 40-50 calls from people who had nests matching the features of honey wasp nests on their property.

“Some of the nests were inaccessible or we didn’t have time to find them,” Leadbeater said. “The largest nest we found was off Interstate 37 between the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Corpus Christi. We  estimated a population of about 20,000 for that one.”

While Leadbeater will soon return to London to examine the wasps and determine their genetic makeup, two members of her team will remain at the Uvalde center for another month to continue their research.

“This is an active time for both honey wasps and honey bees,” said Keck. “And because now is the beginning of what entomologists call ‘bee swarm season,’ South Central Texas residents can  expect even more activity in the coming months.”

However, she added, the advice is essentially the same for avoiding both bee and honey wasp stings.

“If you leave them alone and don’t antagonize them, they’ll pretty much do the same for you.”

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