Snakes Vs. Ants: A Foul Fight

It seems like a strange fight, snakes versus ants. But snakes and ants have occupied the same underground environments for centuries and have become familiar with each other as neighbors typically do. The earliest snakes, some of which are ancestors of the worm-like Texas blindsnake, had to protect and defend themselves from aggressive ants. Their primary weapon? Secreting foul-smelling toxins from the base of their tails. These toxins not only act as a repellent for ants but could also paralyze and kills ants that come in contact with the secretion. 

Why is this important to agriculture? These findings will help researchers study alternative tools that farmers and citizens can use to manage ant populations.  Read more here.

Saving America’s Largest Land Bird

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is threatening an already endangered bird species in America, the California Condor. HPAI is transmitted through the feces, oral secretions, and organs of infected animals. This means the California Condor is especially susceptible to HPAI because it is a scavenger, feeding on the carcasses of dead animals.

ARS and other federal agencies have been taking emergency action to vaccinate the California Condor for HPAI. The vaccine produces protective antibodies that reduce the risk of infection in the birds and prevents/reduces the impact of clinical disease if infected.

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Snout Moths Snuff Out Invasive Ferns

Over 100,000 acres of Florida’s ecosystem have been infested with an invasive plant species, Old Word climbing fern. These ferns grow up to 90 feet in length and have destroyed numerous native plant populations.

ARS partnered with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and the Australian Biological Control Laboratory (ABCL) to collect, identify, and test moth caterpillars feeding on Old World climbing fern in its natural habitat. They found that one species of snout moth, Neomusotima conspurcatalis, has been a successful deterrent of the fern.

The study helped to identify and discover new fern-eating moth species and their caterpillars, which were previously unknown to science. This knowledge is important for future outbreaks of Old World climbing fern, and will be instrumental in protecting U.S. Agriculture, forestry, and native plants populations.

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Protecting Poultry from Perilous Toxins

Corn and corn byproducts are the biggest components of poultry feed in the U.S. However, corn can be susceptible to a variety of mycotoxins, including carcinogens produced by fungi. Ingestion of mycotoxins can have disastrous effects on poultry populations, weakening the gut and leaving the poultry vulnerable to harmful bacteria. Losses due to mycotoxins are estimated at $900 million per year.

The FDA allows farmers to use corn and other feed containing mycotoxins at very low levels. However, researchers at ARS have found that even these low levels of mycotoxins in feed can be damaging to livestock, reducing production performance by 10.5% compared to unexposed birds. ARS research biologist Revathi Shanmugasundaram states, “Mycotoxin contamination of corn and feed must be reduced, and eventually eliminated, for optimal poultry health and production.”

Read “Mycotoxins Can Be A Shot to the Gut of Poultry” to learn more.

Teaching Old Bulls New Tricks

ARS’s National Animal Germplasm Program (NAGP) collects, stores, and preserves genetic samples of various wildlife and livestock. Through the use of this program’s samples, cattle breeders have been able to restore genetic diversity in their livestock, resulting in more desirable genetic traits like greater size and higher milk production.

Angus and Holstein cattle were previously thought to have no problem with genetic diversity, but the use of pre-1997 NAGP samples in livestock breeding has proved that cows today produce less than those of yesteryear. NAGP researchers and the Livestock and Range Research Laboratory are currently studying the genomic differences between bulls born before 1997 and the current population to better understand the reasons for the higher performance levels.

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Ice Ice Butterfly

Can you imagine spring without butterflies? More specifically, the black and orange winged monarch, the most iconic butterfly of all? Beyond the sadness of seeing this species fall into extinction, the effect on the North American ecosystem would be disastrous, causing a great reduction in floral diversity due to lack of pollination.

Researchers at ARS have devised a plan to preserve the monarch butterfly in the event of a mass extinction of the species. They devised the first known cryopreservation protocol for the long-term storage of monarch butterfly germplasm, specifically reproductive cells. Cryopreservation allows for these reproductive cells to be frozen and stored long term, preserving them for if and when monarch butterfly populations drop. 

Cryopreservation presents a more permanent way of preserving insect germplasm and safeguards our vital pollinators from the threat of extinction, and by extension, the complete collapse of the North American ecosystem.

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Hot News About the Health Benefits of Chilis

If you love chili peppers then sink your teeth into this: It’s well known that chili peppers and their extracts deliver antibacterial, antioxidant, pain-relieving, and anti-inflammatory effects. However, recent research shows that these hot commodities may also provide benefits to diabetics.

According to ARS scientists, a recently discovered compound in peppers may help counter the adverse effects of some diabetes medications. Patients taking some antidiabetic drugs (such as pioglitazone or rosiglitazone) tend to gain weight through increased fat accumulation. But ARS experiments indicate that capsiate, a capsinoid compound found in many commonly consumed peppers, reduces accumulation of fat so it may cancel this adverse effect if taken in combination with the antidiabetic drug. 

Scale up by learning more here: Compound in Peppers May Help Lower Blood Sugar Levels

Honey’s Sweet Benefits

Foodborne pathogens like viruses, bacteria, and parasites can cause illnesses in humans when we consume contaminated foods. ARS scientists, along with the National Honey Board, are examining honey’s effects on the gut microbial community and whether honey can help the human body resist infection from certain foodborne pathogens.

To learn more, check out the article, “Honey’s Sweet Benefits”

Mustard Vs. Mosquito

Mosquitos are one of Earths most annoying pests and are known to carry many harmful diseases like Zika and yellow fever. Synthetic pesticides can be used to repel or kill mosquitos. However, it’s possible for mosquitos to adapt to these pesticides and build a resistance to them. ARS researchers have found a spicy repellant to mosquitos that is likely already in your fridge -- Mustard.

ARS researchers ran tests on several naturally occurring defense chemicals found in mustard seeds. They found that when submerged in water with mosquito larvae, all varieties of the mustard seeds tested proved toxic to the larvae, with one variety, garden cress, killing 95% of the larvae within a 24-hour period. These defense chemicals have been found to also kill root-damaging nematodes and disease-causing fungi.

With this new natural remedy for mosquito extermination, the spread of diseases like Zika and yellow fever can be mitigated easier and faster than ever before by eliminating the mosquito carriers before they can take flight.

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Mitigating Pork Parasites

Parasites can present serious health risks in commercial food supplies. Without proper mitigation efforts, parasitic infection can run rampant in livestock populations and cause major trouble for farmers. That scenario was often the reality for pig farmers before development of the U.S. Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA+) program, an education and certification program to improve production practices in the commercial pork industry.

ARS researchers pioneered many of the program’s mitigation techniques. Together with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, ARS conducted a survey of pigs raised under the PQA+ program to determine if it was effective in mitigating exposure to the Trichinella parasite.

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