Crop protection: protecting farmed insects from pathogens using predatory bacteria.

Interest in farming edible insects (e.g. locusts, mealworms and crickets) as sustainable food supplies of the future is rapidly increasing. Their estimated global market value is currently 3.2 billion USD pa and expected to reach 17 billion USD pa by 2032. However, insects are prone to microbial infections, with fungal diseases able to spread quickly through populations of cultivated insects. In this project we wish to investigate using myxobacteria as biological control agents for the protection of insect crops from entomopathogens. To test this hypothesis we will characterise the ability of different myxobacterial species to prey upon entomopathogens and protect crop insects from disease, assess the impact of myxobacteria/pathogen on the nutritional value of insect crops, and investigate methods for optimising administration of myxobacteria with a view to industrial application.