ARS | Publication request: OBSTACLES TO APPLICATION OF GENETICALLY IMPROVED NEMATODES

Submitted to: International Coloquim on Invertebrate Pathology and Microbial Control
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: September 15, 1998
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: The use of entomopathogenic nematodes has been restricted primarily to niche markets throughout the world. Efforts have been under way for a number of years to use classic genetic techniques to improve nematode host finding and storage characteristics to make them more useful as biological control agents. A transgenic nematode with added heat shock protein expression was developed and released in a field in New Jersey. The primary obstacles to the application of nematodes have little to do with the application process itself, and more to do with the cost and efficacy of the nematode products in relation to conventional chemicals. Applications of nematodes for insect control would be enhanced by classical or molecular changes which provided the nematodes with greater stability both before and after the application process. Use of genetic engineering will require additional safety test on these control agents in some countries, and prohibition of their use in others.