BATTLING PESTS WHILE PROTECTING BENEFICIAL BUGS

By Ed Adcock

Entomologist Bryony Bonning has devoted her life’s work to developing alternative methods for pest control, like developing pest resistant transgenic plants or infecting pests with viruses.

Entomologist Bryony Bonning finds the range of insects stunning. “They span the complete range. You’ve got the repulsive ones and the beautiful ones, the useful ones and the pests,” she says.

Classical chemical insecticides are widely used for insect pest management, but a downside to this, Bonning says, is that they kill both the pests and the beneficial insects. That’s why she has devoted her work to developing alternative methods for pest control, like developing transgenic plants that are pest resistant, or infecting pests with viruses. She discovered her passion for biology at her family’s farm in the English countryside. She spent summer holidays fishing, catching insects and bird-watching at the farm in Derbyshire and credits her grandfather for influencing her interest and knowledge in nature. She earned her undergraduate degree in zoology at Durham University and was inspired by John H. Anstee to specialize in entomology.

It didn’t hurt that entomology is one sub-discipline of zoology that offers plenty of employment opportunities. “There is an ongoing need for entomologists. It’s good to know that as we train students,” Bonning says.

She was drawn to Iowa State in 1994, shortly after completing her doctoral degree from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at the University of London. Much of her work is basic research, which she says “brings discoveries that make science exciting.” But her ultimate goal is applying the findings. The combined economic losses associated with insect pest damage and human health consequences associated with insect-vectored disease are astronomical.

She is currently working on two approaches to develop transgenic plants that resist aphid attack. One involves plants that produce toxins derived from the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, also known as Bt, that have been modi- fied to bind better to the aphid gut. In collaboration with W. Allen Miller (see page 7), plant pathology and microbiology, Bonning is working on another approach to deliver a neurotoxin by fusing it to a protein from the coating of a plant virus the aphids carry.

“If I’m able to retire and have some- thing that we developed actually used in the field, that would be the icing on the cake,” she says.

To that end, she is involved in a proposed collaboration with the world’s largest agricultural and insect pest control companies to discuss new research for managing pests, and to better align research conducted within academe with the needs of industry for practical solutions.

Bonning is working on a proposal with colleagues at the University of Kentucky that would create a center with industry members to streamline the development of insect pest management tools. Depending on the interest of companies to partici- pate and the  outcome of the proposal, the Center for Arthropod Management Technologies could start in the fall of 2013.

“The motivation behind this center is to collaborate with industry, so we can work together toward more effective pest management solutions for agricultural, structural and public health pests,” she says.

FOR BUCHELE, CREATIVITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION

Wes Buchele (left) is well known for developing and patenting the first large round baler in 1966 with graduate student Virgil Haverdink.

By Barbara McBreen

At 92 Wesley Buchele continues to creatively solve problems. Along with his 23 patents, he has a website, a YouTube video, a radio blog and in 2008 co-authored a book about his childhood with his twin brother.

The book, Just Call Us Lucky, describes how a widowed mother with seven boys survived droughts, grasshopper infestations, dust storms and the Great Depression on a Kansas farm.

To survive, the seven brothers worked on and off the farm to feed the family and pay the mortgage. That’s how Buchele (PhD ’54 ag engineering and soil physics), got the idea for the large round baler.

“I was on a baling crew when I was 16 and it was 115 degrees in the shade, but there was no shade,” Buchele says. “I made an oath to myself that I would eliminate those small square balers.”

He did that and more. Buchele, Iowa State University professor emeritus in agricultural engineering, is well known for developing and patenting the first large round baler in 1966 with graduate student Virgil Haverdink (’64 agricultural engineering, MS ’67).

Buchele says seeing and solving problems is what he does.

“I can no longer keep myself from inventing, than I can keep myself from breathing,” Buchele says. “I’m not sure where I heard that, but it applies to my life.”

Buchele’s other inventions include
a rotary-flow threshing cylinder used
in American combines and rollover protective devices for tractors. He also started the first agricultural safety class in the United States in 1972 at Iowa State.

He built a tandem tractor in 1954, that had two tractor fronts and two steering wheels, but one driver. The combination of two tractors each able to pull a two-bottom plow, allowed Buchele to pull a six-bottom plow and get 50 percent more power.

In 2010, Buchele was one of five engineers nominated to the Product Design and Development Design Engineer Class of 2010 Hall of Fame. He is one of 13 engineers in the Hall of Fame that include Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Leonardo da Vinci.

Buchele earned his bachelor’s at Kansas State University and master’s at the University of Arkansas before beginning his doctorate at Iowa State. He taught briefly at Michigan State University before joining the faculty at Iowa State in 1963 where he worked until 1989.

Mark Hanna (’73 agricultural engi- neering, MS ’75, PhD ’91), an Iowa State agricultural engineer, remembers Buchele’s entertaining lectures, which resulted in questions, rebuttals and discussion.

“His lectures and exercises on brain- storming to creatively solve machinery and other problems were legendary,” Hanna says. “I don’t recall what tuition cost at the time, but I got more than my money’s worth.”

Buchele’s innovativeness, he says, comes more from being creative than academic. He says lots of people can get great grades, but not many are creative.

SERVING COMMUNITY IN A UNITED WAY

Carla Persaud, an administrative assistant in the college’s dean’s suite, organizes book sales, auctions and volunteer activities to raise funds and awareness for the Story County United Way.

By Barbara McBreen

If you want something done Carla Persaud is the person to ask. That may be why she was asked to join the Iowa State University United Way Campaign.

Last year Persaud won the Story County United Way Wall of Fame Award. The award recognizes a volunteer who has gone beyond the call of duty.

Jean Kresse, president and CEO of United Way of Story County, says Persaud served on the Day of Caring committee to kickoff off the campaign for United Way. It’s a big job. One that requires the coordination of 700 volunteers who helped clean, landscape areas and do odd jobs for nonprofit group homes and social service agencies in Story County.

“Carla’s willingness to get involved and stay active is truly appreciated. We were honored to recognize and thank her for all of her efforts,” Kresse says.

Persaud, an administrative assistant in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences dean’s suite, has served on the ISU United Way Campaign Cabinet for the past five years, but has been involved with United Way for more than 15 years.

“United Way has so many programs in this community that help people,” Persaud says. “It’s a very giving community and I’m proud to be part of it.”

In addition to personal pledges,
she’s helped raise funds through online auctions and book sales, which brought in almost $3,000 last year. She welcomes contributions of new or unique items for the annual online auction for the United Way Campaign.

“Everything we do helps, not only to raise funds, but raise awareness about United Way,” Persaud says.

Joe Colletti, senior associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, says Persaud defines volunteer.

“She offers her time, energy, goodwill and passion to help those in need. She is a professional who gives back and is the ultimate volunteer,” Colletti says.

Everyone who knows Persaud, knows she doesn’t walk, she practically runs everywhere—whether it’s racing to a meeting or running errands.

“I like to get things done as soon as possible,” Persaud says. “That allows me to address those unexpected items that come up.”

You can pretty much guarantee that Persaud will be racing to surpass this year’s goal of $62,500 for the college’s contribution to the Story County United Way Campaign. Just ask the volunteers who help her every year—the ones, she credits, for helping United Way succeed.

VIROLOGIST VIES TO ADVANCE YIELDS AND HUMAN HEALTH

W. Allen Miller, professor of plant pathology and microbiology, has become one of the world’s leading authorities in research of viruses.

By Ann Marie Edwards

W. Allen Miller is using his understanding of viruses to aid both plant and human health.

In one such project Miller, professor
of plant pathology and microbiology, is working to introduce a gene into soybeans harmless to mammals, but toxic to aphids that feed on soybean plants. He collabo- rates with entomology professor Bryony Bonning (see page 6) on the project.

Miller wasn’t always interested in the survival of soybeans.

“I became fascinated by molecular biology when I was a college student. When I went to graduate school I decided I wanted to help feed the world rather than do medical research. I would study agricultural research or biotechnology even though I had no background in plants or farming,” says Miller.

He started to focus on viruses while earning his Ph.D. degree at the University of Wisconsin. Miller is now recognized
as one of the world’s leading authorities on mechanisms of barley yellow dwarf virus molecular biology.

Since joining the ISU faculty in 1988, his research has made important contri- butions to several disciplines including RNA structure and function of viruses (referring to the type of nucleic acid they use to store genetic information).

By publishing and sharing his findings, Miller has made the molecular biology world more aware of plant viruses as fascinating model systems. His work has been funded from many sources including the National Institutes of Health.

Today, Miller and his colleagues study molecular biology of plant RNA viruses from several perspectives including RNA virus replication from plants to humans.

“We employ plant viruses as easy-to-use model systems to provide basic understanding of how viruses express genes and replicate,” Miller says. “This knowledge may be relevant to major human viruses such as hepatitis A and C viruses, West Nile and more.”

While running his research lab Miller works to create a stimulating environment for students and postdocs.

“The lab is almost like a family,” Miller says. “Some of my proudest achievements beyond scientific discovery are the number of scientists who I have trained. Many of my students have gone on to very successful careers as scientists.”

Miller’s former student Elizabeth Pettit Kneller (PhD ’05 plant pathology), agrees.

“Dr. Miller is really enthusiastic about science and instills an excitement about virology in his students. He gives students opportunities to be involved with grant applications and presenting at conferences,” says Pettit, a scientist at KeraNetics, an advanced biomaterials company in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Miller recently began a faculty profes- sional development assignment at the Institute for Plant Molecular Biology in France. While on the 10-month assign- ment with the French governmental research organization, he will continue to study translation mechanisms, but with a different set of plant viruses than he studies at Iowa State. The new lineup includes viruses important to sugarbeet and potato production. He will use this new experience to build his research program at Iowa State.