ECOLOGY-EPN-FOOD WEB

Molecular and ecological approaches to study soil food webs for enhancing biological control of insect pests and monitoring disturbances

Coordinatore	AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS    more  Organization address address: CALLE SERRANO 117 city: MADRID postcode: 28006 contact info Titolo: Mr. Nome: Carlos Manuel Cognome: Abad Ruiz Email: send email Telefono: +34 91 566 8852 Fax: +34 91 566 89 13
Nazionalità Coordinatore	Spain [ES]
Totale costo	241˙761 €
EC contributo	241˙761 €
Programma	FP7-PEOPLE Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)
Code Call	FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IOF
Funding Scheme	MC-IOF
Anno di inizio	2010
Periodo (anno-mese-giorno)	2010-10-01   -   2013-09-30

 Partecipanti

#	participant	country	role	EC contrib. [€]
1	AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS  Organization address address: CALLE SERRANO 117 city: MADRID postcode: 28006 contact info Titolo: Mr. Nome: Carlos Manuel Cognome: Abad Ruiz Email: send email Telefono: +34 91 566 8852 Fax: +34 91 566 89 13	ES (MADRID)	coordinator	241˙761.10

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Soil is a largely non-renewable resource with high socio-economic and natural value. Soil ecosystems sustain high biodiversity involved in complex food webs that interact with abiotic factors. Understanding these complex interactions could provide a model for monitoring soil disturbances as well as optimizing ecological scenarios to favour biological control. The aim of this post-doctoral research project is to develop and use molecular tools based on quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) to study food webs comprised of nematodes, fungi and bacteria. The new molecular tools will improve our ability to detect and quantify these organisms in soil. We intend to study the relative roles of physical and biotic components of various habits in regulating the spatial patterns of the entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN). These nematodes offer a promising non-chemical alternative for managing insect pests in a number of crops worldwide. Whereas these nematodes are generally applied to soil repeatedly as needed (augmentation biological control), we seek new information to modify the habitat (conservation biological control) in ways that will increase the efficacy of both augmented and endemic EPNs. Furthermore, these molecular tools will provide a means of monitoring human activities that cause a significant perturbation to the soil ecosystem, by monitoring changes in the occurrence and population density of organisms related to the state of soil conservation'

Introduzione (Teaser)

A recent initiative has created a molecular toolkit for the identification of a range of soil organisms. The toolkit focuses especially on small worm-like creatures known as nematodes.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Biodiversity is an important aspect of soil quality, especially since much of the Earth's soil is degraded through pollution or agricultural activities. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are key as they are often responsible for controlling the insect pests that attack crop plants.

Funded by the EU, the ECOLOGY-EPN-FOOD WEB project developed a molecular toolkit that will enable the study of food webs in soil ecosystems. Due to the broad knowledge and agronomic importance of EPNs, researchers focused on these nematodes and other common members of their food web.

The toolkit can identify several bacteria that are EPN parasites. It also identifies free-living nematodes that compete for resources with EPNs, and four of the most common EPN species.

Project members used the toolkit to investigate common soil treatment strategies (irrigation, fertilisation and mulching), and to compare food webs in cultivated and natural soils. The study revealed important insights into how abiotic (non-living) factors can influence soil food webs and consequently affect crop productivity.

The toolkit was also used to investigate the effects of mine dumping on food webs, and on EPNs in particular. Researchers found that high lead content heavily impacted soil biodiversity, with the exception of certain well-adapted nematode species.

ECOLOGY-EPN-FOOD WEB has demonstrated the value of analysing soil food webs at the molecular level. It is clear that this toolkit can be applied to various soil quality challenges around the world.