Application Form for the Containment of New Organisms

APPLICATION FORM CONTAINMENT Application for containment approval for new organisms under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 Send by post to: Environmental Protection Authority, PO Box 131, Wellington 6140 OR email to: [email protected] Application number APP201124 Applicant The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited Key contact Lloyd Stringer The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited Postal Address: Plant & Food Research Lincoln PB 4704, Christchurch Mail Centre, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand Physical Address: Plant & Food Research Lincoln Gerald Street, Lincoln, 7608, New Zealand www.epa.govt.nz 2 Application for containment approval for new organisms Important This application form should be used if you intend to import, develop or field test any new organism (including genetically modified organisms (GMOs)) in containment. These terms are defined in the HSNO Act. The HSNO Act can be downloaded from: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1996/0030/latest/DLM381222.html. If your application is for a project approval of low-risk genetic modification, use application form EPA0062. The HSNO (Low Risk Genetic Modification) Regulations can be downloaded from: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2003/0152/latest/DLM195215.html. Applications to field test GMOs will be publicly notified. The other application types may or may not be publicly notified. This application form will be made publicly available so any confidential information must be collated in a separate labelled appendix. The fee for this application can be found on our website at www.epa.govt.nz. If you need help to complete this form, please look at our website (www.epa.govt.nz) or email us at [email protected]. This form was approved on 21 September 2011. September 2011 EPA0061 3 Application for containment approval for new organisms 1. What type(s) of containment activities are you applying for? Tick where appropriate: Application type Type of new organism GM Import into containment Non-GM Develop in containment i.e. regeneration, fermentation or GM genetic modification Non-GM GM Field test in containment Non-GM 2. Brief application description Provide a short description (approximately 30 words) of what you are applying to do. The importation of species of Lepidoptera into containment for research purposes. 3. Summary of application Provide a plain English, non-technical description of what you are applying to do and why you want to do it. The order Lepidoptera has a considerable number of species that are of economic importance in horticulture, agriculture and forestry. Consequently, many lepidopteran species are considered to be biosecurity threats to New Zealand, and could cause considerable damage to our economy if they were to establish here. In addition, some Lepidoptera are valuable as weed biological control agents. We wish to import the pupae of multiple species of the insect order Lepidoptera from any country into PC2 invertebrate containment facilities, for the purpose of identifying and developing a synthetic pheromone(s) or other semiochemicals for each of the species. As biologically active semiochemicals can differ for mated and unmated females, for this approval we would like to identify compounds that are biologically active for both mated states. The use of lepidopteran semiochemicals for monitoring as a first line of defence for detecting alien species at the border is a proven one. This strategy has already been used successfully, for example, to provide early warning of an incursion of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) into Hamilton in March, 2003. The specific semiochemicals including pheromones will mainly be used as monitoring tools as part of New Zealand’s biosecurity initiatives, or for other uses in pest management strategies both in New Zealand and overseas. The identification of the pheromones and other semiochemicals of these insects will help to maintain and expand scientific capability in this area, which is important both for New Zealand’s biosecurity and for reducing insecticide usage. Other positive benefits will accrue from international cooperation and successfully helping other nations’ biosecurity and biocontrol interests. September 2011 EPA0061 4 Application for containment approval for new organisms 4. Describe the background and aims of your application This section is intended to put the new organism(s) in perspective of the wider activities(s) that they will be used in. You may use more technical language but please make sure that any technical words used are included in a glossary. Our aim is to identify semiochemicals for use in modifying the behaviour (attraction and/or repellence) of both male and female lepidoptera. We are also interested in other factors from live plants that can affect host range. We have an approval to bring in Lepidoptera into containment for the purpose of identifying semiochemicals (NOC002488). We would now like to allow mating to occur between males and females of the same species for the purpose of identifying semiochemical odours that attract lepidoptera. Female moths are a particular target as they produce the offspring (larvae are often the most damaging phase of the lepidopteran lifecycle) contributing to future generations. Odour(s) are often food based, coming from foods such as nectar, but can come from other sources such as, but not limited, to host plants signalling suitable and unsuitable egg laying sites. The mating status of the female moths can influence the response to odour(s) (Masante-Roca et al. 2007). Mated moths may respond to different odour stimuli than unmated moths. Mated moths do not need to concentrate on attracting a mate, thus prioritise finding extra nourishment for the production of offspring and suitable oviposition sites using odour cues. We will not mate lepidoptera for the purpose of maintaining a colony. Relatively few odours have been identified for attracting female moths, unlike sex pheromones, that are a powerful tool for the attraction of male moths to population monitoring traps, for mass trapping and mating disruption. Pheromone analysis would continue as it has under approval NOC002488, whereby extracts are taken from glands of females (most often) and tested for detection of male moth antennae by use of an electroantennogram and antennae are stimulated by various compounds that are passed over it. Candidate compounds may then be identified by Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and those compounds tested in a flight tunnel for a behavioural response. Testing of final products would likely be field tested overseas where the target species is present. For the identification of other semiochemicals, odours will be identified using similar methods as above with the main difference being that the same will be done on female as well as male antennae, followed by compound(s) identification, flight tunnel bioassays and field testing as above. As female moths can respond differently to different compounds when mated from when they were not mated, flight tunnel assays will be an important step to prove attraction. This may include responses to live plants. 5. Information about the new organism(s) For non-GMOs: provide a taxonomic description of the new organism(s). For GMOs: provide a taxonomic description of the host organism(s) and describe the genetic modification (i.e. the experimental procedures and biological material to be used in the genetic modification and where the expression of foreign nucleic acid may occur). Describe the biology and main features of the organism including if it has inseparable organisms. September 2011 EPA0061 5 Application for containment approval for new organisms Describe if the organism has affinities (e.g. close taxonomic relationships) with other organisms in New Zealand. Could the organism form an undesirable self-sustaining population? If not, why not? How easily could the new organism be recovered or eradicated if it established an undesirable self-sustaining population? Taxonomy for non-GMO Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) Biology All Lepidoptera have holometabolistic development with four distinct life stages. These are egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult (usually winged). Pupae (and adults) are usually sexually dimorphic. In general, the adult males are more active than their conspecific females and fly in search of a mate. Typically female adults produce a sex pheromone to attract their conspecific males during the species’ behaviourally- active diurnal period. However, in a few moth species and in some butterflies, it is the male that emits the sex pheromone. The majority of moths are night-flying and most butterflies are daytime fliers Although not strictly inseparable, insect parasitoids and pathogens could potentially accompany the lepidopteran pupae. For Lepidoptera that are sourced from rearing facility cultures, it is unlikely that any pest or pathogen would accompany the pupae as the colony in culture would likely fail in the presence of a pest or pathogen, thus will be controlled for. However, for field collected insects, these have the potential to have an associated parasitoid or pathogen. Pupae would be transported to the transitional facility in separately sealed containers and pupae would emerge as adults separately to prevent the contamination of the entire shipment should there be an associated pest or pathogen. Any accompanying pest or

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