2011 International Congress on Invertebrate Pathology and Microbial Control & 44th Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology ABSTRACTS 07-11 August 2011 Saint Mary’s University Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada 1 MONDAY – 8 August these populations, studies on their diseases are a relative deficit discipline compared to those from molluscan and finfish host groups. In addition to capture production from native stocks, Plenary Symposium Monday, 10:30-12:30 European states are major importers of farmed crustaceans (mainly Disease Perspectives from the Global Crustacean tropical shrimp) as these products become an increasingly Fishery significant component of the European seafood diet. Due to these factors, EC Directive 2006/88, applied from August 2008, has for the first time listed the three viral diseases White Spot Disease Plenary Symposium, Monday 10:30 1 (WSD), Yellowhead Disease (YHD) and Taura Syndrome (TS) as Crustacean diseases – A Canadian perspective exotic pathogens of concern. In addition to the listing of these Rick Cawthorn pathogens, and in line with infrastructural arrangements for fish Department of Pathology and Microbiology, AVCLSC and mollusc diseases, the EC have designated a European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL) to cover crustacean diseases, with individual Member State National References Laboratories (NRL) Plenary Symposium, Monday 11:00 2 being designated by Member State Competent Authorities. The Crustacean diseases – A US perspective designation of an EURL for crustacean diseases formally Jeffrey D. Shields recognizes the ecological and commercial importance of Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William and crustaceans in the aquatic habitats of EU Member States and also Mary, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA the potential for exotic disease introductions to these populations Address for correspondence: [email protected] via the international trade of live and commodity products. The designations have also revealed a relative paucity in crustacean Commercial industries for crustaceans in the USA have two disase expertise across the EU. Improvements in the biosecurity primary modes of production: aquaculture and fisheries. Crayfish status of native crustacean populations within the EU and a and penaeid shrimp support crustacean aquaculture industries in concomitant enhancement of knowledge on native pathogens and America. The disease issues in aquaculture arise from intensive mortality drivers in natural and fared stocks is expected to develop culture conditions, such as high stocking density, the import of in coming years. This presentation will discuss the crustacean contaminated stock, poor water quality, and the lack of suitable disease components of EC Directive 2006/88, place this into quarantine control. Microbial pathogens are of significant concern context for nations importing live crustaceans and their products to in these settings, most notably being viruses in penaeid shrimp. the EU and highlight current research interests of the EURL. White spot syndrome virus (WSSV), taura virus, infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrotizing virus, and yellowhead virus are just a few of the more than 20 pathogenic viruses Plenary Symposium, Monday 12:00 4 reported from penaeid shrimp. Several of these have been introduced into the USA causing considerable damage to the Crustacean diseases - an Australian perspective Brian Jones nacent culture industry. Department of Fisheries, Government of Western Australia, P.O. A more diverse group of crustaceans support commercial fisheries, Box 20, North Beach, WA 6920, Australia including a variety of crabs (blue, Dungeness, rock, snow, and Address for correspondence: [email protected] king crabs), penaeid shrimps, lobsters (clawed and spiny), as well as those harvested for use in aquaculture production such as brine In Australia, crustacean fisheries are based on trawling for shrimps shrimp. The disease issues in fisheries are often associated with ("prawns") as well as potting for panulirid lobsters, Jasus spp. and environmental factors such as entrained water masses, increased Panulirus spp. with small incidental catches of Bay lobsters climatic variability and seasonal molting, or factors directly (Thenus spp.), nephrops lobsters and crabs; as well as aquaculture associated with the fishery such as removal of adults or males, and of freshwater crayfish (Cherax spp.). 57% of the gross value of large-scale changes to host biomass. Outbreaks of pathogens have production of Australian fisheries comes from crustacean landings, damaged several important fisheries, but the causative agents were of which rock lobsters form 18% and shrimp 13% (2008-09 often unknown at the time. Nonetheless, the pathogens are as exports for Australia worth about US$437 000 000 while shrimp diverse as their hosts, and range from microbial agents associated were valued at $312 000 000). with epizootic shell disease on clawed lobsters, parasitic Investigation of disease has been patchy. This is due, in part, to the dinoflagellates in blue crabs and snow crabs, and nemertean egg absence of significant aquaculture, except for shrimp; the lack of predators on rock and king crabs, to rhizocephalan barnacles in disease diagnostic expertise generally and finally to the difficulty blue and king crabs. In aquaculture and in fisheries, direct effects in sampling sick animals from wild fisheries using nonrandom such as dead shrimps or crabs are obvious, but less obvious are the sampling methods. The inability to adequately sample animals in morbid effects of disease which include enhanced susceptibility to the open ocean has been a problem, for example, during recent low other diseases, increased predation risk, loss of vigor, stunting, and recruitment to the western rock lobster fishery. parasitic castration. Though Australasia remains free of White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), virus diseases have been a problem in the shrimp aquaculture industry. A recent (2009) Import Risk Assessment Plenary Symposium, Monday 11:30 3 (IRA) determined that WSSV, taura syndrome virus and Crustacean Diseases – an EU Perspective yellowhead disease posed an unacceptable risk to Australia. The Stentiford, G.D. IRA process highlighted three problems: The lack of information European Union Reference Laboratory for Crustacean Diseases, on disease, including variant strains; the very high cost of the IRA Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science process, and the tension that exists in the community between "free (Cefas), Weymouth Laboratory, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 8UB, trade" and protection of native biodiversity. United Kingdom Address for correspondence: [email protected] Crustacean production in European marine waters is based around a large cold-water fishery for crabs, lobsters and shrimp and a small aquaculture industry for temperate water shrimp and crayfish. Despite the commercial and ecological importance of 2 Student Workshop Monday, 12:30-14:00 Address for correspondence: [email protected] How to Write Grant Proposals Organizers: Sastia Putri and Kelly Bateman The plant bugs Lygus hesperus and Lygus lineolaris have emerged as economic pests of cotton in the United States. These Student Workshop, Monday 12:40 5 hemipteran species are not controlled by the lepidopteran-specific How to approach senior scientists for joint grant writing insect control traits (Bacillus thuringiensis Cry proteins) found in Jørgen Eilenberg genetically-modified commercial varieties of cotton. Indeed, there has been no compelling evidence in the scientific literature to indicate that Bt insecticidal proteins can be effective in controlling Student Workshop, Monday 13:00 6 piercing-sucking insects such as Lygus. We summarize recent Making sure your grant is funded work on the identification of novel Bt Cry proteins toxic to Lygus Ann E. Hajek nymphs. Cotton plants expressing a novel 35 kDa crystal protein Department of Entomology, Comstock Hall, Cornell University, were observed to impact the survival and development of Lygus Ithaca, NY 14853-0901 hesperus nymphs in a concentration-dependent manner. These Address for correspondence: [email protected] results provide our first proof-of-concept for the development of cotton varieties protected from Lygus feeding damage. When you spend the time writing a grant proposal you want to maximize the chances that reviewers will give your grant top marks so that it is funded. We‟ll discuss how to organize and write Contributed Paper, Monday 14:15 9 Novel approach for Bt toxin-based transgenic aphid resistance your grant proposal and making sure to get pre-submission reviews 1 and, in particular, making sure to allocate enough time. Nanasaheb P. Chougule, Huarong Li , Sijun Liu, Bryony C. Bonning Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA Student Workshop, Monday 13:20 7 1 A winning proposal: effective grant writing for early career Current affiliation, Dow AgroSciences, Indianapolis, IN 46268, researchers USA Helen Hesketh Address for correspondence: [email protected] Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, Although toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis United Kingdom (Bt) have been used successfully for management of some insect Address for correspondence: [email protected] pests, Bt toxins are not effective against the agriculturally important Hemiptera. These sap-sucking insects currently