TY - CHAP
T1 - Screening Strategies for Selection of New Microbial Antagonists of Plant Pathogens
AU - Elena Jiménez, G.
AU - Köhl, J.
PY - 2021/1/10
Y1 - 2021/1/10
N2 - Screening of microorganisms for commercial use in biological control requires to consider many selection criteria. Besides antagonistic efficacy against the targeted plant pathogen, candidates also have to fulfil basic criteria regarding ecological characteristics, environmental risks, risks for humans, animals and plants, production costs, market size and possibilities for intellectual property protection. In this Chapter, the different steps to obtain promising biological control agents are described comprising the process of collection, evaluation, mass production and registration of the candidates, showing how complex such a process is and how multi-disciplinary approaches, from fundamental research to product development and commercialisation, are needed. In this screening process, end users have to be identified and included in the design of the biocontrol research, to overcome the socioeconomic factors influencing the biocontrol adoption amongst growers. In vitro tests to assess the antagonistic efficacy of the candidates should be avoided, because they may lead to biased selection procedures. Instead, it is proposed to design robust and reproducible bioassays where the pathogen and the candidates are interacting on the host or host tissue under controlled conditions. Two practical cases of research programs for the development of biological control products against powdery mildew in cereals and European fruit tree canker are presented as examples.
AB - Screening of microorganisms for commercial use in biological control requires to consider many selection criteria. Besides antagonistic efficacy against the targeted plant pathogen, candidates also have to fulfil basic criteria regarding ecological characteristics, environmental risks, risks for humans, animals and plants, production costs, market size and possibilities for intellectual property protection. In this Chapter, the different steps to obtain promising biological control agents are described comprising the process of collection, evaluation, mass production and registration of the candidates, showing how complex such a process is and how multi-disciplinary approaches, from fundamental research to product development and commercialisation, are needed. In this screening process, end users have to be identified and included in the design of the biocontrol research, to overcome the socioeconomic factors influencing the biocontrol adoption amongst growers. In vitro tests to assess the antagonistic efficacy of the candidates should be avoided, because they may lead to biased selection procedures. Instead, it is proposed to design robust and reproducible bioassays where the pathogen and the candidates are interacting on the host or host tissue under controlled conditions. Two practical cases of research programs for the development of biological control products against powdery mildew in cereals and European fruit tree canker are presented as examples.
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-030-53238-3_11
DO - 10.1007/978-3-030-53238-3_11
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9783030532376
SN - 9783030532406
T3 - Progress in Biological Control
SP - 165
EP - 181
BT - How Research Can Stimulate the Development of Commercial Biological Control Against Plant Diseases
A2 - De Cal, P.A.
A2 - Melgarejo, N.M.
PB - Springer
CY - Cham
ER -