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Post by toni on Mar 29, 2007 17:14:48 GMT -5
Something really interesting here. Monsanto, the GMO makers...who to "not" incur the cost of insectidal sprays, insert "bacillus thuringiensis" and "agrobacterium" into the cotton cells as to grow the "built-in insecticides" into the cotton plants, and Collembola apparently LOVE and thrive on this! Consumption of insect pathogens demonstrates the potential of the Collembola as scavengers of biological insecticides artificially introduced into the environment. Abstract: Collembola are very abundant soil insects which contribute to the decomposition of organic matter. This paper presents data on the interaction between Collembola and selected microbial agents being tested or used as biological pesticides. The Collembolan, Folsomia candida, was not susceptible to the entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, Hirsutella spp., and Verticillium lecanii, or to the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, and its endotoxins. F. candida consumed and inactivated the insect pathogens without suffering mortality, reproductive disturbance or any other harmful effects. Consumption of insect pathogens demonstrates the potential of the Collembola as scavengers of biological insecticides artificially introduced into the environment. www.ingentaconnect.com/content/urban/281/2001/00000045/00000006/art00104I know the people who've been tested for Agrobacterium tested positive, I wonder if we've got the bacillus too. And Agrobacterium should NEVER be in humans....nor the rest of this...so maybe a Bt test is needed.
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Post by toni on Mar 29, 2007 18:28:22 GMT -5
www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-68148360.html More recently there has been a well-documented case report of B. thuringiensis-mediated soft-tissue infection and necrosis, along with experimental evidence of pathogenicity, in both immune compromised and, more importantly, normal mice (17,18). The results presented here show for the first time that, at the human cell level, both Bti and Btk BT products can generate potent B. cereus-like toxic effects. What is lacking is a critical understanding of conditions that might concern high-risk groups, those unable to manage microbe invasions through impaired immune responses and other physical-chemical clearance mechanisms manifested during development (the very young, the elderly) and in specific genetic disorders (e.g., cystic fibrosis).
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Post by ed on Mar 29, 2007 21:27:08 GMT -5
ah........collembola are commonly used as non-target indicators of non desireable effects on normal soil fauna when pesticides are tested to be stamped as "SAFE" to use by such agencies as the EPA. So it stands to reason that companies such as Monsanto would design their pesticides so as not to kill and possibly even have a positive effect on collembola populations... duh ...Ed. cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1909319
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Post by browncircles on Mar 29, 2007 21:36:09 GMT -5
Maybe if we soak in a vat of collembola they will eat our agrobacterium and bt. Oh, wait, then how do we get rid of them?
Sorry for the bad joke.
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Post by toni on Mar 30, 2007 7:43:48 GMT -5
Then we just don a pet collar...hahaha totally kidding.
I read Ed's link, and it seems collembola don't mix with chlorpyrifos, but it's highly poisonous to humans, an ingredient in those pet collars....great.
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