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<h1>Description</h1> | <h1>Description</h1> | ||
− | <p | + | <p>This is some text in a paragraph.</p> Our focus this year is fighting bed bugs, a worldwide invasive pest, which is invading homes and biting humans for their blood. These tiny bugs became harmful to humans from the moment we made caves our homes, as the original hosts of bed bugs were bats. Nowadays humans don’t live in caves, but this temporary troglodyte dwelling came with a cost: fighting against an insect addicted to human blood. While their bite usually don’t transmit any disease, it still induces serious dermatological and allergy issues.<br> |
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We aim at finding an efficient solution for removing bedbugs from an infested living space. Our strategy consists of two integrated parts: using pheromones as a chemical lure that can attract bedbugs to a trap where they will be eradicated using Beauveria bassiana, a fungus highly virulent to bed bugs but safe for human.<br> | We aim at finding an efficient solution for removing bedbugs from an infested living space. Our strategy consists of two integrated parts: using pheromones as a chemical lure that can attract bedbugs to a trap where they will be eradicated using Beauveria bassiana, a fungus highly virulent to bed bugs but safe for human.<br> |
Revision as of 13:23, 25 July 2018
Description
Description
This is some text in a paragraph.
Our focus this year is fighting bed bugs, a worldwide invasive pest, which is invading homes and biting humans for their blood. These tiny bugs became harmful to humans from the moment we made caves our homes, as the original hosts of bed bugs were bats. Nowadays humans don’t live in caves, but this temporary troglodyte dwelling came with a cost: fighting against an insect addicted to human blood. While their bite usually don’t transmit any disease, it still induces serious dermatological and allergy issues.We aim at finding an efficient solution for removing bedbugs from an infested living space. Our strategy consists of two integrated parts: using pheromones as a chemical lure that can attract bedbugs to a trap where they will be eradicated using Beauveria bassiana, a fungus highly virulent to bed bugs but safe for human.
We want to elaborate an attractive lethal trap for that we need:
- Enhanced Beauveria : Overexpressing chitinase and lipase proteins to increase Beauveria bassiana virulence.
- Produce pheromones in E. coli for the attractive action.
What is our plan ?
- To develop our trap, we are going to use the biological properties of the entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana. Beauveria bassiana is used already as way of fight against insects in agriculture, this is already the case in Canada.
- Beauveria bassiana is known and used more than hundred years as natural way for insect control in agriculture. Thus there are no risks unacceptable to take into account. On the contrary, the use of pesticides such as chlorpyrifos is authorized in European Union in any knowledge of the very numerous risks of toxicity incurred for the consumers of products of vegetable origin, by adding more the risks for mammals, birds, aquatic animals and bees. More the search moves forward and more we shall find more effective and more respectful ways for our health and the environment, by beginning by using microorganisms such as Beauveria bassiana, to be able to fight naturally against pests.
- This fungus has a big capacity to penetrate into the protective coating of the bed bug, called cuticle. Once inside the insect, the fungus is going to multiply in its circulatory system and it will engender the death of the insect. Our objective is to improve the fungus so that it is more effective against bed bugs and on a more reduced duration. We want to reduce the lethal dosis, to increase efficiency to cause the death of the bugs. Furthermore, bed bugs are moreover resistant in the external attacks, because of selective pressure led by the excessive use of insecticides. And pesticides are becoming more and more ineffective against bed bugs. Beauveria bassiana is an alive organism which can be adapted to the evolution of bed bugs.
- The pheromones that we plan to use, are chemical molecules produced by the bugs themselves, helping them in their movement mechanism. Beauveria bassiana has a great ability to penetrate the protective layer of a bedbug (i.e. cuticle), leading consequently to death of the insect by altering its circulatory system.
Inspiration
We used some papers to elaborate our plan