Biopesticides

Biopesticide refers introduction of any living organism such as microorganism including bacteria , fungi , nematodes viruses, protozoa and parasitoids and predators that controls pests by biological non-toxic means e.g. Trichoderma sp., Bacillus thuringiensis, Beauveria etc.

1. BIOPESTICIDES By: RAHUL KUMAR GUPTA M.Sc. BIOTECHNOLOGY 2 ND YEAR JAMIA HAMDARD

2. BIOPESTICIDE Bio means involving life or living organisms Pesticide includes substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying or controlling any pest Biopesticide refers introduction of any living organism such as microorganism including bacteria , fungi , nematodes viruses, protozoa and parasitoids and predators that controls pests by biological non-toxic means e.g. Trichoderma sp ., Bacillus thuringiensis , Beauveria etc .

3. Questin is WHY …… PROBLEM OF FOOD SECURITY

4. Estimation of crop losses caused by insect pests to major agricultural crops in India Dhaliwal et al. 2010

5. Microbial Pesticides Consist of a microorganism as the active ingredient (e.g., bacterium, fungus, virus or protozoan) About 3000 reported to cause diseases in insects Viruses isolated from 1000 species of insects More than 100 bacteria identified as pathogens Over 800 fungal species belonging to 100 genera recognized More than 100 protozoans identified as pathogens

6. Genetic Improvement To combine pathogenecity of virus with insecticidal action of a toxin, hormone or enzyme To improve production, modifying host range & enhancing utility To reduce the time from infection with recombinant virus to death of infect such that feeding damage is below economic threshold

7. Recombinant DNA Technology Viral Genomic DNA Plasmid Cultured insect cells b A B a Foreign gene b a b Viral DNA Transfer vector Homologous recombination Allelic replacement Screening by Plaque assay selection of recombinant virus

8. Examples Buthus eupeus insect toxin- 1 ( BeIt ) is an insect specific paralytic neurotoxin isolated from scorpion Buthus eupeus , was inserted into AcMNPV ( Autographa californica multiple nuclear polyhedrosis virus) genome under control of polyhedrin gene promoter Juvenile hormone esterase (JHE) gene from tobacco hornworm, Heliothis virescens genome into AcMNPV genome. In late instar lepidopterous larvae, juvenile hormone is inactivated by an increase in JHE level, this reduction in JH titers initiates metamorphosis to the pupal stage and to a cessation of feeding Kaushik , 2008

9. Crystal Sporulated culture Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Bacteria

10. Insecticidal toxin of Bacillus thuringiensis B. thuringiensis is an aerobic spore-forming bacterium which produces a toxin (Bt toxin or Cry) that kills certain insects The Bt toxin or Cry is produced when the bacteria sporulates and is present in the parasporal crystal Several different strains and subspecies of B. thuringiensis exist and produce different toxins that kill specific insects They have no toxicity to human & there is no withholding period on produce sprayed with Bt

11. Cry protein: mode of action The Cry protein is made as an inactive protoxin Conversion of the protoxin (e.g., 130 kDa ) into the active toxin (e.g., 68 kDa ) requires the combination of a slightly alkaline pH (7.5-8) and the action of a specific protease(s) found in the insect gut The active toxin binds to protein receptors on the insect gut epithelial cell membrane The toxin forms an ion channel between the cell cytoplasm and the external environment, leading to loss of cellular ATP and insect death

12. Bt strain Trade name Uses Bt var. aizurai Florback , Centari Diamondback moth Bt var. galleriae Certan Wax moth larvae in honey combs Bt var. israelensis Bactimos , Bactis , Thurimos , Vectobac Larvae of mosqitoes and balckflies Bt var. kurstaki Bt, Biobit , Dipel , Delfin , Javelin Lepidopterous larvae Bt var. sandiego Diterra , M- one plus Beetles and weevils Bt var. thuringenesis Muscabac , Thuricide Flies, Lepidopterous larvae Table: Bt based commercially available pesticides

13. Advantages of Biopesticides Difficult for insects to develop resistance to these pesticides Safe to natural enemies and higher organisms Biodegradable : Rapid degradation of the active ingredient make it more acceptable. Cheaper, renewable, can be handled safely Often have other uses like household insect repellents or are plants with medicinal properties Most are compatible with insecticides and microbial agents There is great demand for residue free cotton garments, fruits, vegetables and beverages, large scale utilization of botanical pesticides will certainly help us in meeting international standards of quality and safety in these products

14. Disadvantages Slow effect Lack persistence and wide spectrum activity Rapidly degraded by UV light so residual action is slow Effective dose is higher i . e. 30 ml/10L especially in neem Seasonal availability of plant products indicates the need for their storage Not easily available everywhere Poor water solubility and are generally not systemic in nature All products applied followed by growers have not been scientifically verified

15. Future prospective Ecological studies on dynamics of diseases in insect populations are necessary Efforts should be made to minimize the loss of infectivity of certain pathogens due to photoinactiavtion Extension work needs to be geared up among the farming community to make them aware about the use and benefits of biopesticides Biotechnological approaches could be useful for obtaining bioactive products on large scale

16. REFERENCES www.agrochemicals.iupac.org www.ecoideaz.com www.epa.gov www.nistads.res.in NAAS 2013. Biopesticides - Quality Assurence . Policy paper No. 62 Suman Gupta and A. K. Dikshit . Biopesticides : An ecofriendly approach for pest control. Journal of Biopesticides 3(1 Special Issue) 186 - 188 (2010)