Do new Access and Benefit Sharing procedures under the Convention on Biological Diversity threaten the future of biological control?

Under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) countries have sovereign rights over their genetic resources. Agreements governing the access to these resources and the sharing of the benefits arising from their use need to be established between involved parties [i.e. Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)]. This also applies to species collected for potential use in biological control. Recent applications of CBD principles have already made it difficult or impossible to collect and export natural enemies for biological control research in several countries. If such an approach is widely applied it would impede this very successful and environmentally safe pest management method based on the use of biological diversity. The CBD is required to agree a comprehensive Access and Benefit Sharing process in 2010, in preparation for which the IOBC (International Organization for Biological Control of Noxious Animals and Plants) Global Commission on Biological Control and Access and Benefit Sharing has prepared this position paper. Here, we first describe the practice of biological control in relation to the principles of ABS, illustrated extensively by case studies and successes obtained with biological control. Next, we emphasise the very limited monetary benefits generated in biological control when compared to other fields of ABS such as the collection of germplasm for development of human drugs, chemical pesticides or crop cultivars. Subsequently, we inform the biological control community of good ABS practice and challenges, and we hope to make clear to the community involved in ABS under the CBD the special situation with regard to biological control. Finally, based on the non-commercial academic research model, we make recommendations which would facilitate the practice of collection and exchange of biological control agents, propose a workable framework to assist policy makers and biological control practitioners, and urge biological control leaders in each country to get involved in the discussions with their national ABS contact point to take their needs into consideration.     

Habitat preferences and positive assortative mating in an avian hybrid zone

The relatively narrow hybrid zone between hooded and carrion crow is characterised by a high proportion of breeding hybrids, no known intrinsic postzygotic costs, and most likely, high gene flow between populations. It is therefore of interest to identify factors preventing a breakdown of the zone. In this study, we investigate the possibility that habitat choice could create assortative mating in the German–Danish part of the zone. In a GIS analysis, we used two approaches to investigate the role of habitat selection in the maintenance of this zone. We tested if there are 1) any correlations between habitat and the shape of the hybrid zone, and 2) any differences in habitat preferences between territorial individuals of the crow phenotypes. The most extensive habitat, non‐irrigated arable land (Habitat 1), which covers almost 50% of the area in the zone was preferred by all three phenotypes (carrion, hooded and hybrid crows), but showed no change in frequency across the zone. Pastures (Habitat 2) and agricultural areas mixed with natural vegetation (Habitat 4) correlated with the shape of the zone, but only H4 differed in preference between the crow phenotypes. H4 was preferred by hybrids and hooded crows, but not by carrion crows. This habitat is present only in 17% of the hooded crow territories, and thus, it is not likely to have a strong influence on the maintenance of the hybrid zone. There was evidence of assortative mating in pure phenotypes, whereas hybrids showed no consistent mating pattern. Because our GIS analyses suggest that species specific habitat preferences are not involved in shaping the assortativeness, we discuss other possible mechanisms.     

Organochlorines and mercury in the eggs of British Peregrines Falco peregrinus

The levels of various contaminants were measured in 550 addled and deserted Peregrine Falco peregrinus eggs obtained in Britain during 1963-86. In this period the population was recovering from a low level imposed by organochlorine pesticides. Over the whole period, HEOD levels declined in eggs from both inland and coastal regions, while DDE levels declined in eggs from inland regions. At the same time, shell-indices improved. PCB levels increased in eggs from inland regions. At any one time, levels of DDE and HEOD in eggs decreased and shell-indices increased from south to north within Britain. These gradients fitted with the extent of agricultural land (= pesticide use) and with the extent of Peregrine population decline (both greatest in the south). No south-north trend was apparent in levels of PCBs derived from industrial sources. In some regions eggs from coastal sites were more contaminated than eggs from inland sites, especially with PCBs and mercury. Significant relationships were found between brood sizes and DDE levels, between brood sizes and shell-indices, and between shell-indices and DDE levels. This implied that DDE influenced shell thickness and breeding success. Some evidence was obtained that mercury reduced brood sizes, but no evidence that HEOD and PCB (at the levels found) did so. Overall, DDE and mercury levels together accounted for 17% of the variance in brood sizes during 1963-86. On a regional basis, DDE had no obvious effect on mean productivity when the geometric mean DDE level in collected eggs was less than 3 p.p.m., and when mean shell-index was no more than 8% less than normal. At higher DDE levels, and lower shell-indices, productivity declined markedly. Recovery of regional populations was associated with geometric mean HEOD levels in eggs no greater than 0–7 p.p.m., DDE levels no greater than 15 p.p.m., shell indices no more than about 15–20% below normal, and a mean breeding success exceeding 0–6 young per territorial pair.     

Ferrichrome in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Schizosaccharomyces pombe</Emphasis> – an iron transport and iron storage compound

Schizosaccharomyces pombe has been assumed not to produce siderophores. Nevertheless, the genomic sequence of this fission yeast revealed the presence of siderophore biosynthetic genes for hydroxamates. Applying a bioassay based on an Aspergillus nidulans strain deficient in siderophore biosynthesis, and using reversed-phase HPLC and mass spectrometry analysis, we demonstrate that S. pombe excretes and accumulates intracellularly the hydroxamate-type siderophore ferrichrome. Under iron-limiting conditions, the cellular ferrichrome pool was present in the desferri-form, while under iron-rich conditions, in the ferri-form. In contrast to S. pombe, hydroxamate-type siderophores could not be detected in two other yeast species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans.     

Staphylococcal alpha‐phenol soluble modulins contribute to neutrophil lysis after phagocytosis

Staphylococcus aureus community‐acquired (CA) MRSA strains are highly virulent and can cause infections in otherwise healthy individuals. The most important mechanism of the host for clearing S. aureus is phagocytosis by neutrophils and subsequent killing of the pathogen. Especially CA‐MRSA strains are very efficient in circumventing this neutrophil killing. Interestingly, only a relative small number of virulence factors have been associated with CA‐MRSA, one of which are the phenol soluble modulins (PSMs). We have recently shown that the PSMs are functionally inhibited by serum lipoproteins, indicating that PSMs may exert their cytolytic function primarily in the intracellular environment. To further investigate the intracellular role of the PSMs we measured the effect of the α‐type and β‐type PSMs on neutrophil killing after phagocytosis. Using fluorescently labelled S. aureus, we measured bacterial survival after phagocytosis in a plate reader, which was employed next to flow cytometry and time‐lapse microscopy. Phagocytosis of the CA‐MRSA strain MW2 by human neutrophils resulted in rapid host cell death. Using mutant strains of MW2, we demonstrated that in the presence of serum, the intracellular expression of only the psmα operon is both necessary and sufficient for both increasedneutrophil cell death and increased survival of S. aureus. Our results identify PSMα peptides as prominent contributors to killing of neutrophils after phagocytosis, a finding with major implications for our understanding of S. aureus pathogenesis and strategies for S. aureus vaccine development.     

Prevalence of antibodies to 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus in German adult population in pre- and post-pandemic period

Background

In order to detect levels of pre-existing cross-reactive antibodies in different age groups and to measure age-specific infection rates of the influenza A (H1N1) 2009 pandemic in Germany, we conducted a seroprevalence study based on samples from an ongoing nationwide representative health survey.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We analysed 845 pre-pandemic samples collected between 25 Nov 2008 and 28 Apr 2009 and 757 post-pandemic samples collected between 12 Jan 2010 and 24 Apr 2010. Reactive antibodies against 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus (pH1N1) were detected using a haemagglutination inhibition test (antigen A/California/7/2009). Proportions of samples with antibodies at titre ≥40 and geometric mean of the titres (GMT) were calculated and compared among 6 age groups (18–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, ≥70 years). The highest proportions of cross-reactive antibodies at titre ≥40 before the pandemic were observed among 18–29 year olds, 12.5% (95% CI 7.3–19.5%). The highest increase in seroprevalence between pre- and post-pandemic was also observed among 18–29 year olds, 29.9% (95% CI 16.7–43.2%). Effects of sampling period (pre- and post-pandemic), age, sex, and prior influenza immunization on titre were investigated with Tobit regression analysis using three birth cohorts (after 1976, between 1957 and 1976, and before 1957). The GMT increased between the pre- and post-pandemic period by a factor of 10.2 (95% CI 5.0–20.7) in the birth cohort born after 1976, 6.3 (95% CI 3.3–11.9) in those born between 1957 and 1976 and 2.4 (95% CI 1.3–4.3) in those born before 1957.

Conclusions/Significance

We demonstrate that infection rates differed among age groups and that the measured pre-pandemic level of cross-reactive antibodies towards pH1N1 did not add information in relation to protection and prediction of the most affected age groups among adults in the pandemic.