Team:KU Leuven/Project/Ecological/wetlab
From 2013.igem.org
Line 93: | Line 93: | ||
<a id="MeS effect on predators"></a> | <a id="MeS effect on predators"></a> | ||
<h3>Natural Enemies</h3> | <h3>Natural Enemies</h3> | ||
- | <p align="justify">A description of the natural enemies we received from biobest and employed in our experiments is given <a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:KU_Leuven/Project/aphidbiology#Model%20Organisms"> here.</a> The predatory | + | <p align="justify">A description of the natural enemies we received from biobest and employed in our experiments is given <a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:KU_Leuven/Project/aphidbiology#Model%20Organisms"> here.</a> The predatory insects, ladybugs (adult and larvae), green lacewings (larvae) and parasitic wasps (adult) were subjected to a choice experiment. Starting from a determined point on our set-up (see figures), the insects were released and given a choice of a certain MeS concentration or a control solution which was the solvent used. We first diluted the pure MeS solution in 97% ethanol to obtain five different concentrations ranging from 10^-9 to 10^-11. We chose to use ethanol due to the fact that it evaporates easily, leaving behind the MeS.After our first day at Biobest we had very disappointing results, there was no clear reaction to be seen to either the MeS or the control solution. With advice from Biobest we tried other solvents such as hexane and paraffin oil. We chose to use paraffin oil because MeS is a volatile and paraffin oil would allow the slow release of this volatile, giving the insects more time to respond to MeS. We also tried a different set-up. The first set-up was performed under a fume hood and this might have resulted in the rapid elimination |
</p> | </p> | ||
</div> | </div> |
Revision as of 20:05, 2 October 2013
Secret garden
Congratulations! You've found our secret garden! Follow the instructions below and win a great prize at the World jamboree!
- A video shows that two of our team members are having great fun at our favourite company. Do you know the name of the second member that appears in the video?
- For one of our models we had to do very extensive computations. To prevent our own computers from overheating and to keep the temperature in our iGEM room at a normal level, we used a supercomputer. Which centre maintains this supercomputer? (Dutch abbreviation)
- We organised a symposium with a debate, some seminars and 2 iGEM project presentations. An iGEM team came all the way from the Netherlands to present their project. What is the name of their city?
Now put all of these in this URL:https://2013.igem.org/Team:KU_Leuven/(firstname)(abbreviation)(city), (loose the brackets and put everything in lowercase) and follow the very last instruction to get your special jamboree prize!
![tree](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2013/a/ac/Tree.png)
![ladybugcartoon](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2013/6/64/Ladybugcartoon.png)
E. coligy: Plants with BanAphids - insect experiments
In order to validate the BanAphids' model, we decided to investigate the effect of the two substances, E-beta-farnesene (EBF) and Methyl Salicylate (MeS) on aphids. Once we started our project, we noticed that we were not the only ones approaching this agricultural problem from this angle. Research groups like Rothamsted are currently investigating the use of EBF to repel aphids as well but in the form of GM crops. We also found that other areas of the industry were also interested in our project such as Biobest, worldwide leader in sustainable crop protection and pcfruit whose mission is to research prospects for biological fruit growing, new crop protection methods, etc. We were invited to perform our insect experiments at Biobest and pcfruit to validate the BanAphids model. We attempted to determine the working concentrations of our two substances in pure form and to examine the preference of aphids and their predators under different conditions and environments. With the data we have collected so far, we can observe that these two substances indeed do have an effect on aphids.
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2013/9/9c/Biobest.png)
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2013/c/c8/PcFruitLogo.png)
Insect experiments
What we wanted the insects to do!
Through many years of research, it has been found that E-beta-farnesene (EBF) is the essential compound of an aphid's alarm pheromone and that the general response to this signal is a change in gene expression that will agitate the aphids causing them to leave the plant. We tried to prove this using the synthetic compound EBF (Sigma-Aldrich, farnesene, mixture of isomers). We also tried to prove the kairomone effect of Methyl Salicylate (Sigma-Aldrich, Methyl Salicylate ≥99%) through the use of the synthetic compound. We experimented with different concentrations of these synthetic compounds, with different solvents, with different set-ups and with different insects (Biobest).
One of the set-ups we used.
Natural Enemies
A description of the natural enemies we received from biobest and employed in our experiments is given here. The predatory insects, ladybugs (adult and larvae), green lacewings (larvae) and parasitic wasps (adult) were subjected to a choice experiment. Starting from a determined point on our set-up (see figures), the insects were released and given a choice of a certain MeS concentration or a control solution which was the solvent used. We first diluted the pure MeS solution in 97% ethanol to obtain five different concentrations ranging from 10^-9 to 10^-11. We chose to use ethanol due to the fact that it evaporates easily, leaving behind the MeS.After our first day at Biobest we had very disappointing results, there was no clear reaction to be seen to either the MeS or the control solution. With advice from Biobest we tried other solvents such as hexane and paraffin oil. We chose to use paraffin oil because MeS is a volatile and paraffin oil would allow the slow release of this volatile, giving the insects more time to respond to MeS. We also tried a different set-up. The first set-up was performed under a fume hood and this might have resulted in the rapid elimination