Periodic Reporting for period 2 - INSECT DOCTORS (A joint doctoral program to educate tomorrow’s insect pathologists: Solving disease problems in the upcoming insect rearing industry.)
Période du rapport: 2021-11-01 au 2024-10-31
Mass production of insects is a core activity to address the global demand for animal proteins for food and feed, one of the top societal and environmental priorities in Europe and worldwide. Mass-reared insects are also crucial for pollination, fishery, biocontrol of pest insects, animal and human disease prevention, and organic waste debris conversion. Insect farming generally occurs under high density monoculture conditions in specialised insect rearing facilities. In such “insect factories” insect pathogens easily emerge, leading to extensive economic losses for the companies involved. The number of European insect producers has considerably increased over recent years, as has the scale at which they produce insects. However, the success of these companies is heavily relying on healthy insects. To be sustainable and cost-effective insect production urgently needs to become more resilient to a large range of pathogens. However, at the start of the INSECT DOCTORS programme, knowledge on the pathogens that threaten mass-reared was very scarce. Furthermore, a shortage of sufficiently qualified people, highly knowledgeable in the breadth of disciplines within insect pathology (e.g. bacteriology, virology, mycology), was apparent. The INSECT DOCTORS double-degree network was initiated to overcome the gaps in knowledge described above and to train a new generation of insect pathologists with relevant skills and expertise to benefit the insect mass rearing industry. The research performed in INSECT DOCTORS aimed to increase our understanding of insect pathogens and how and under which circumstances they impact mass-reared insects. Furthermore, we aimed to develop improved rearing methods to reduce the risk of disease outbreaks in a variety of produced insects (e.g. crickets, mealworms, wax moths, fruit flies), as well as the tools to diagnose insect pathogens in commercial insect rearing settings.
In total eight universities participate in INSECT DOCTORS, as well as three research institutes, one FAO laboratory and four companies. Fifteen early stage researchers (ESRs) were recruited in 2020 as PhD candidates. For all ESRs double degree agreements were negotiated and signed. All eight training activities (theoretical and hands-on) that we planned were organised and followed by all 15 early stage researchers (ESRs) in the programme, including a workshop for stakeholders. These training events allowed them to perform their research, and develop into insect pathologists with specific knowledge and relevant laboratory and T-shaped skills. These training events were also very important for building a coherent, collaborative network amongst them. Annual network meetings were hold to inform the total consortium about the progress and to further extend the network of the ESRs.
The research performed was divided over three work packages: In WP1 we studied interactions between pathogens and insect hosts, and determined biotic and abiotic triggers for disease outbreaks. WP2 dealt with asymptomatic (covert) infections) and the molecular mechanisms that kept such infections under control. We also designed important tools for the detection of pathogens in a variety of insects in order to monitor disease and prevent outbreaks. Also we developed methods for the discovery of viruses and used these to unravel the virome composition of the mediterranean fruit fly and the black soldier fly. In WP3 we analysed interactions between pathogens and the insect microbiome and how nutritional adaptations can increase the fitness of reared insects.
The results of the research were, so far, published as 35 peer reviewed publications and few more are in the progress of being published. The ESRs actively participated in a number of conferences, either during dedicated conference sessions, as symposium speakers or as contributing talk or poster presenters. The ESRs were awarded a considerable number of travel grants and presenter prizes.The results have been implemented in our participating research institutes and commercial rearing facilities, in a spin-off company, and have found their way into educational programs and new proposals for scientific research. As of December 2024, 11 ESRs have graduated with double degrees, and a 12th PhD thesis is under review. The final three PhD thesis are to be submitted in 2025.
The research performed was divided over three work packages: In WP1 we studied interactions between pathogens and insect hosts, and determined biotic and abiotic triggers for disease outbreaks. WP2 dealt with asymptomatic (covert) infections) and the molecular mechanisms that kept such infections under control. We also designed important tools for the detection of pathogens in a variety of insects in order to monitor disease and prevent outbreaks. Also we developed methods for the discovery of viruses and used these to unravel the virome composition of the mediterranean fruit fly and the black soldier fly. In WP3 we analysed interactions between pathogens and the insect microbiome and how nutritional adaptations can increase the fitness of reared insects.
The results of the research were, so far, published as 35 peer reviewed publications and few more are in the progress of being published. The ESRs actively participated in a number of conferences, either during dedicated conference sessions, as symposium speakers or as contributing talk or poster presenters. The ESRs were awarded a considerable number of travel grants and presenter prizes.The results have been implemented in our participating research institutes and commercial rearing facilities, in a spin-off company, and have found their way into educational programs and new proposals for scientific research. As of December 2024, 11 ESRs have graduated with double degrees, and a 12th PhD thesis is under review. The final three PhD thesis are to be submitted in 2025.
Through the research projects within the programme we increased our understanding on the nature and biology of the pathogens that threaten the production of insects and developed tools and methods needed to diagnose and manage pathogens in commercial insect rearing facilities. We designed and developed diagnostic tools and bio-informatic pipelines to detect a variety of pathogens in reared insects. We discovered a range of new viruses, especially in fruit flies and black soldier flies and determined their effects on host fitness. We also revealed the existence of an entirely new clade of nudiviruses, infecting parasitic insects (lice). Due to our research, it is now much clearer, which conditions to avoid in order to prevent disease outbreaks in mass-reared insects, such as crickets and caterpillars. Also, the interplay between gut microbiome and pathological microbes and how that affects host fitness was determined of for various insect species. A number of these results have seen directly implemented in research organisations and companies involved, and all results are published open access so are available to other stakeholders. With the training of this cohort of PhD candidates we considerably increased the human capacity in the field of insect pathology and provided means for stronger market positions of insect rearing companies in Europe. We also built a strong network of insect pathologist reaching out beyond the EU borders and from within this network several new collaborative proposals have been submitted. Research output and experimental design also found its way into our universities’ educational programs and as such will be used to train further generations of students.