Cooperative Research and Development Agreements

..With DuPont Agricultural Products, Newark, DE, to further develop AAL-toxin, a new ARS-patented weed killer, for agricultural uses. This fungal compound killed jimsonweed and other pesky broadleaf weeds in lab studies. AAL-toxin is produced by the fungus Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici. ARS scientists found that it kills several weeds that are pests of row crops such as soybeans, cotton, rice and corn. Weeds in these crops cost farmers billions of dollars each year. In lab tests, weeds that succumbed include duckweeds (Lemnaspecies), jimsonweed (Datura stramonium), black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), prickly sida (Sida spinosa), redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) and northern jointvetch (Aeschynomene virginica). Some A. alternata fungi are known to promote spoilage of fruits, vegetables and grains. But using AAL-toxin to kill weeds doesn't pose a hazard to the crops and should be safe for the environment and wildlife. It can be used before or after weeds emerge and is effective as a spray, mixed with water or alone. (PATENT 5,256,628)
Southern Weed Science Research Unit, Stoneville, MS
Hamed K. Abbas/C. Douglas Boyette, (601) 686- 5313/5217, habbas@ag.gov, dboyette@ag.gov

Licenses

...To PhotoDye International, Inc., Baltimore, MD, for patented formulations of SureDye, which kills fruit flies. SureDye is a mixture of a bait and dye--red and sometimes yellow as well. The product quickly kills several species of fruit fly pests including Mediterranean and Mexican fruit flies. ARS and PhotoDye developed and tested SureDye under cooperative research and development agreements. SureDye may be an alternative to insecticides like malathion that can be toxic to humans and beneficial insects. The mixture can be placed in traps or applied as a fine spray. The bait attracts the flies and stimulates them to feed. When they consume the SureDye, they succumb within a few hours' exposure to sunlight. Light speeds the dye's activity, which destroys insect cells. Under an experimental use permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ARS, PhotoDye and other cooperators have field-tested SureDye formulations in California, Florida, Hawaii and Texas. Outdoor tests have also been conducted in Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa and Surinam. The outdoor trials have been in citrus, mango, carambola and other tropical and subtropical crops. Fruit fly targets have included Caribbean, carambola, Mediterranean, Mexican, oriental and other crop- damaging fruit fly species that can be quarantine pests. While the baits are powerfully attractive to tropical fruit flies, they are unappealing to honeybees, ladybugs and parasitic wasps that attack pests. The dyes, primarily D&C Red No. 28, already are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in drugs and cosmetics including lipstick, antacids and other products. ARS-led tests with fruit flies, Colorado potato beetles and other pests continue to explore photoactive dye as an effective, environmentally friendly insecticide.
Subtropical Agricultural Research Center, Weslaco, TX
Robert Mangan, (956) 565-2647, mangan@pop.tamu.edu
Tropical Fruit, Vegetable and Ornamental Crop Research Lab, Aiea, HI
Paul H. Moore, (808) 486-5411, pmoore@harc- hspa.com

...To Monsanto, St. Louis, MO, to use a new corn fiber oil in a variety of foods and food ingredients. Feeding studies with hamsters at the University of Massachusetts indicated the oil significantly lowered total serum cholesterol and artery-clogging LDL cholesterol. A patent on the product, called Amaizing Oil, will be held jointly by ARS and the University of Massachusetts. The oil was extracted from the hull of corn kernels. Corn fiber is a low-value byproduct of wet milling, the industrial process that produces starch, sweeteners, fuel grade ethanol and other products from corn. About 4 million tons of fiber--which could yield about 80,000 tons of corn fiber oil--are produced by the corn-processing industry each year. This waste byproduct is now sold for about 5 cents a pound as an ingredient in cattle feed. Commercialization of this technology could also lower production costs of other corn-derived products like fuel ethanol. It has the potential to benefit the U.S. economy by replacing imported petroleum, creating new jobs, providing new uses for agricultural byproducts and increasing income for processors and growers, as well as developing healthy new foods for consumers. (Patent 08/569,473)
Eastern Regional Research Center, Wyndmoor, PA
Kevin B. Hicks/Robert A. Moreau, (215) 233-6580, khicks@arserrc.gov/rmoreau@arserrc.gov
National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Peoria, IL
Robert A. Norton, (309) 681-6251, nortonra@mail.ncaur.usda.gov

Patents

A new method for getting artificial chemicals through an insect's tough skin, or cuticle could lead to innovative pest controls. ARS researchers have developed several artificial neuropeptides--natural chemicals that control insect behavior and development. The problem: The neuropeptides normally can't penetrate an insect's skin so they can start working. ARS scientists formulated a greasy molecule from boron, carbon and other ingredients. The molecule matches the physical characteristics of the insect's cuticle so that it's easily absorbed. For the first application of the new molecules, researchers designed a chemical mimic of a neuropeptide chemical that in nature causes adult female corn earworms to produce a sex attractant or pheromone. In the laboratory, scientists used the neuropeptide mimic—helped along by the greasy molecule--to stimulate pheromones in an earworm for 20 hours. The strategy is to cause the insect to run out of pheromone- making chemicals, making it impossible for the insect to attract mates. Each year, corn earworms cause $1.2 billion in damage to corn, cotton, and tomatoes. They are becoming resistant to insecticides now on the market. (Patent Application 08/700,915)
Veterinary Entomology Research, College Station, TX
Ronald J. Nachman, (409) 260-9314, nachman@acs.tamu.edu
Center for Medical, Agricultural & Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, FL
Peter E. A. Teal, (352) 374-5788, pteal@gainesville.usda.ufl.edu

ARS scientists have designed and patented a machine that uses steam and vacuum to quickly and inexpensively kill bacteria such as Salmonella on the surface of raw poultry, beef and pork. In less than a second, the new machine kills 99.99 percent of bacteria by heating the meat surface with quick bursts of steam at 290 o F, then cooling it with vacuum. The process does not cook the surface of the meat, a problem that has prevented industry from adopting other thermal processes. Consumers prefer meat with a raw appearance. A commercial version of the machine for poultry could treat 4,000 birds per hour. Each machine could be built with multiple treatment chambers. Using this equipment should add no more than a cent per pound to processing costs. (Patent 5,281,428)
Eastern Regional Research Center, Wyndmoor, PA
Michael Kozempel, (215) 233-6588, mkozempel@arserrc.gov

Plant breeders worldwide might someday use a laboratory-built protein from ARS to screen promising new plants. Known as a monoclonal antibody, the protein seeks out and binds to bitter-tasting, unwanted natural compounds called glycoalkaloids in three crops--potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants. Plans call for using the monoclonal antibody in a simple, inexpensive test kit that could help breeders identify experimental plants that exceed acceptable levels of glycoalkaloids. ARS researchers named the new monoclonal antibody "Sol-129" after "Solanaceae," the botanical group to which each of these three solanaceous crops belongs. The idea of using monoclonal antibodies to detect glycoalkaloids isn't new. But the ARS- developed antibody is apparently the first to detect the main glycoalkaloids of all three vegetables. (Patent 5,614, 408)
Food and Feed Safety Research Unit, College Station, TX
Larry H. Stanker, (409) 260-9484, stanker@usda.tamu.edu

Need to know the mass of an object that is literally too hot to handle? A new method that uses microwaves may help. The technique was originally conceived because ARS engineers wanted a quick and inexpensive way to measure moisture content in corn kernels. They developed a system that uses microwaves to give accurate moisture readings without harming the seeds. The method also works on peanuts and soybeans. In fact, it works so well the researchers soon realized it may have broader application in fields such as manufacturing or materials handling. It can measure the mass of objects too dangerous to touch, such as molten ceramics or glass. The scale can take measurements in as little as 20 milliseconds. Best of all, it can be easily manufactured with readily available components. The researchers received a patent (No. 5,554,935) on the technology and it is now available for license.
Richard B. Russell Research Center, Athens, GA
Stuart O. Nelson, (706) 546-3101, sonelson@bae.uga.edu

Natural compounds called limonoid glucosides have shown promise as potential biological insecticides and anti-tumor agents. Now it's commercially feasible to manufacture these compounds, thanks to techniques developed by ARS and Japanese scientists. ARS scientists discovered that citrus fruits produce the compounds to counteract bittering chemicals contained in the fruit. But until now, extracting limonoid glucosides from orange and other citrus pulp required a time-consuming enzyme treatment that was impractical on a large scale. Recently, ARS and Japanese scientists developed a method that removes up to 100 percent of the compounds without pretreatment. Citrus waste is passed through a chamber containing an absorbent that catches the compounds. A solvent then extracts high concentrations of limonoid glucosides. (Patent Application 08/595,607).
Process Chemistry and Engineering Unit, Albany, CA
Shin Hasegawa, (510) 559-5819, shasegawa@pw.usda.gov

Last Updated: February 18, 1998
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