Tools & Technology

Publication

Austropuccinia psidii, causing myrtle rust, has a gigabase-sized genome shaped by transposable elements

Austropuccinia psidii has a broad host range with more than 480 myrtaceous species. Since first detected in Australia in 2010, the pathogen has caused the near…

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Media

Kauri: The fightback against dieback

The threat to kauri from dieback hasn’t gone away but the disease isn’t spreading as fast as feared. New management techniques and research into the…

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Media

Biodiversity brought to Fonterra farms

A new project supported by Fonterra’s Living Water Partnership with the Department of Conservation will help on-farm advisors grow their understanding of biodiversity, with a…

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Publication

High-throughput chemical screening identifies compounds that inhibit different stages of the Phytophthora agathidicida and Phytophthora cinnamomi life cycles

Here, we have screened over 100 compounds for their anti-oomycete activity, as a potential first step toward identifying new control strategies. Our screening identified eight…

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Publication

Confronting the risks of large-scale invasive species control

Large-scale invasive species control initiatives are motivated by laudable desires for native species recovery and economic benefits, but they are not without risk. Management interventions…

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Publication

Introduction of a male-harming mitochondrial haplotype via ‘Trojan Females’ achieves population suppression in fruit flies

Here, we provide proof-of-concept for the TFT, by showing that introduction of a male fertility-impairing mtDNA haplotype into replicated populations of Drosophila melanogaster causes numerical population suppression,…

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Publication

Mitonuclear interactions, mtDNA-mediated thermal plasticity and implications for the Trojan Female Technique for pest control

Here we test whether the male-sterilizing effects previously associated with the mt:Cyt-b mutation are consistent across three thermal and three nuclear genomic contexts. The effects of this…

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Publication

Exploiting interspecific olfactory communication to monitor predators

We devised a field experiment to investigate whether dominant predator (ferret Mustela furo) body odor would alter the behavior of three common mesopredators: stoats (Mustela erminea), hedgehogs…

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Publication

Gene drives and rodent control: response to Piaggio et al.

Piaggio et al. recently outlined the role that new synthetic biology technologies may play in addressing a myriad of issues in conservation. One area they focused on…

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Publication

Invasion success and management strategies for social Vespula wasps

Three species of Vespula have become invasive in Australia, Hawai‘i, New Zealand, and North and South America and continue to spread. These social wasp species can achieve…

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Publication

Notch signalling mediates reproductive constraint in the adult worker honeybee

Here, we demonstrate that chemical inhibition of Notch signalling can overcome the repressive effect of queen pheromone and promote ovary activity in adult worker honeybees.…

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Publication

The potential for the use of gene drives for pest control in New Zealand: a perspective.

Genetic technologies such as gene editing and gene drive systems have recently emerged as potential tools for pest control. Gene drives, in particular, have been…

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