Subventions et des contributions :

Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier. (2017-2018 à 2018-2019)

One of the goals of Crop Defenders Ltd., an integrated pest management (IPM) company, is to utilize naturallyx000D
occurring strains of microorganisms in order to control insect pests. These biopesticides benefit the growers byx000D
enhancing integrated pest management (IPM), resistance management, improving the yield, quality andx000D
marketability of the fresh produce. Crop Defenders Ltd. is working with very promising crop producers thatx000D
have demand for high quality microbials for pest control in Canada and internationally.x000D
One of the foci of Crop Defenders Ltd. is to employ species of fungi that infect insects in order to control insectx000D
pests of crops in Ontario, Canada and internationally. Crop Defenders Ltd has isolated over 250 strains of fungix000D
in Ontario and are assessing these endemic strains in a biological control effort.x000D
In order to assess the potential for the use of the strains of fungi that Crop Defenders has in agriculture it isx000D
necessary first to be able to identify which fungal species they have isolated. This would also be important ifx000D
the fungus is released for insect control in order to be able to track the viability, persistence and efficacy of thex000D
strain.x000D
Our laboratory at Brock University has at least 25 years of experience in identifying fungal species,x000D
particularly, insect pathogenic fungi. We will use at least two molecular markers using polymerase chainx000D
reaction (PCR) to identify the fungal species in comparison to previously identified isolates. We will comparex000D
these fungal isolates in a phylogenetic analysis in order to place the fungi in a taxonomic context. Furthermore,x000D
we will be experimenting with rapid DNA extraction protocols in order to streamline the entire process ofx000D
fungal identification.