This year brought change to the Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology (SIP), with the conference being held virtually for the first time since the inaugural meeting in 1968. This however, did not prevent the organisers from putting together an excellent programme consisting of several live symposia, numerous recorded oral presentations, posters and live chat sessions. The 2021 International Congress on Invertebrate Pathology and Microbial Control & the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology took place from the 28th June to the 2nd July. Four members of the CBC attended, each contributing an oral presentation. This provided an opportunity to share some of the latest findings and results of the research the CBC does with the biological control community while simultaneously creating an opportunity to receive valuable feedback and commentary from experts in the field.
The conference further enabled the CBCs continued efforts to network within the SIP community. This was most evident with a fifth contributed oral presentation which stems from a collaboration between the CBC, Citrus Research International (CRI) and IMT Mines Ales. This collaboration, driven by Prof Moore, Prof Knox and Dr Marberg, has seen the evaluation of the entomopathogenic virus (EPV), Cryptophlebia peltastica nucleopolyhedrovirus, in combination with other EPVs against biopesticide resistant populations of the Codling moth in Europe. SIP 2021 served as an ideal platform to share the progress and results from this project among the team and with the SIP community at large.
Looking back at SIP 2021, the CBC delegation were extremely impressed by the meeting, with the conference being a well orchestrated virtual experience. In their words “It was most enjoyable, with several fascinating keynote symposia presented. The conference ran smoothly for the first virtual meeting, and the participation by the attendees was substantial. Chat sessions were lively, with presenters usually getting far more questions than they bargained for.”
With SIP 2021 complete, the CBC now looks forward to hosting SIP 2022 - The 54th Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology to be held in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa from 31 July to 4 August 2022.
Below is a list of the oral presentations contributed by the CBC:
Mwanza, P., Dealtry, G., Lee, M., & Moore, S. 2021. Successful selection of a UV-resistant Cryptophlebia leucotreta betabaculovirus for a more persistent biopesticide. 2021 International Congress on Invertebrate Pathology and Microbial Control & 53rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology. 28 June - 2 July 2021. Virtual Meeting.
Prinsloo, S., Coombes, C., Moore, S., Malan, A. & Hill, M. 2021. Interaction between indigenous entomopathogenic nematodes and the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae against late instar false codling moth larvae. 2021 International Congress on Invertebrate Pathology and Microbial Control & 53rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology. 28 June - 2 July 2021. Virtual Meeting.
Marsberg, T. & Moore, S.D. 2021. Synergism between a baculovirus and an insect growth regulator? 2021 International Congress on Invertebrate Pathology and Microbial Control & 53rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology. 28 June - 2 July 2021. Virtual Meeting.
van der Merwe, M., Knox, C.M., Hill, M.P. & Moore, S.D. 2021. Yeast-baculovirus synergism for the improved control of Thaumatotibia leucotreta, an important pest of citrus in Africa. 2021 International Congress on Invertebrate Pathology and Microbial Control & 53rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology. 28 June - 2 July 2021. Virtual Meeting
Hinsberger, A., Blachère-Lopez, C., Knox, C., Moore, S., Marsberg, T. & Lopez-Ferber, M. 2021. Multiple baculovirus infections in codling moth: CpGV-R5 help to CpGV-M cannot be substituted by CrpeNPV. 2021 International Congress on Invertebrate Pathology and Microbial Control & 53rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology. 28 June - 2 July 2021. Virtual Meeting.
Written by Dr Jukes and Dr v.d. Merwe