Plenary Session and Divisional
 
 
Symposia:

The Plenary Session for the 2025 meeting will focus on South American Aquaculture, Diseases and Climate Change. This is because of the preeminence of the aquaculture industry in this region.  There will be six divisional, two cross-divisional and one pan-divisional symposia. There is also a plan for a workshop/open discussion session on Microbial Control in Latin America.

 
 Plenary Session, Symposia, Round Table, Forum Sessions
 
PLENARY
SESSION
South American Aquaculture, Diseases and Climate Change Challenges –

Organizers:  S. Patricia Stock, Christian Montalva

  • Adaptation Strategies of Climate Change Impacts and the Mussel Farming Industry in Chile. Cristian A. Vargas
  • Pathogens and Diseases in Marine Invertebrates Related to Mariculture and Commercial Fisheries in Argentina. Nuria Vazquez
  • Current and emerging diseases in farmed shrimp. Arun Dhar
  • Diseases and parasites of wild and cultivated mussels in Argentine Patagonia. Florencia Cremonte
SYMPOSIA,
ROUNDTABLES,
FORUM,
WORKSHOP

Fungi Division Symposium:  Diversity of Entomopathogenic Fungal Adaptations

Chair: Oliver Keyhani, Joseph Ross

  • Surviving the solar forge: New insights into entomopathogenic fungi adaptation to UV. Patricia Golo
  • Entomopathogenic fungi in diverse environments: exploring unconventional niches and host responses. Nicolas Pedrini
  • Entomopathogenic fungi in Chile: research in the agricultural and forestry sectors. Cristian Montalva
  • Harnessing the diversity of fungal propagules for tick control: what we’ve learned. Everton Fernandes

Cross Divisional Symposium: Nematodes as hosts for the Microsporidia

Chair: Jaime Bojko

  • Nematodes as hosts for the Microsporidia. Jaime Bojko
  • C. elegans defense against infection with intestinal-infecting microsporidia. Emily Troemel
  • Purine metabolism regulates the C. elegans immune response to Microsporidia. Eillen Tecle

DBI Division Symposium: Pathogens of important cultured and fished invertebrates from South America

Chairs: Jaime Bojko and Kelly Bateman

  • Emerging diseases in cultivated mollusks in Chile. Karin Lohrman
  • Intracellular bacterial diseases in bivalves. Irene Cano Cejas
  • Trematodes in Transit: Assessing Disease Threats Posed by the Invasive Green Crab in South American Waters. Charlotte Davies
  • Movement and population connectivity of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus and its viral pathogen CsRV1 across their transhemispheric range.  Donald Behringer

Microsporidia Symposium: Advances in microsporidia research from ecology to cell biology to pathogenesis and treatment

Chair: Jonathan Snow

  • Host diversity and evolution of microsporidia. Sam Edwards
  • Using flow cytometry to probe life stage specificity of anti-microsporidia drugs in honeybees. Jonathan Snow
  • Phylogenetic placement of Areospora rohanae: a microsporidian affecting the Lithodes santolla fishery in Chile and Argentina. Jamie Bojko

Bacteria Discussion Forum. How do bacterial pesticidal proteins kill their host cell?

Chair: Neil Crickmore

Panelists and Discussion topics
  • How do the pesticidal proteins kill cells. Mario Soberón
  • The nature of the pore . Alejandra Bravo
  • Spore germination. Christina Nielsen-Leroux
  • Vip3 Mechanism of action. Patricia Hernández Martínez
  • Receptor interactions. David Heckel
Panelists will give a brief introduction to each topic followed by an open discussion with the audience.

Nematodes Symposium. Mass production of entomopathogenic nematodes: technologies and new challenges

Chairs: Patricia Navarro, Luis Leite

  • Key drivers behind the production and use of bacteria and nematodes as bioinputs in Brazil. Luis Leite
  • Improved approaches for in vivo production of entomopathogenic nematodes. David Shapiro-Ilan
  • Liquid and solid culture production of entomopathogenic nematodes in South Africa. Murray D. Dunn
  • In vitro solid mass production of entomopathogenic nematodes. Xun Yan
  • In-vitro mass production of native entomopathogenic nematodes: difficulties and challenges. Patricia Navarro

Student & Postdoc Affairs Workshop. Building Transferable and Career-Relevant Skills

Chair:  S. Patricia Stock

This workshop is aimed at students and postdocs attending the conference. There will a presentation on “Transferable Skills” followed by a discussion with a group of panelists who will share their experiences in their career paths and how transferable skills help them succeed in their professional trajectories.

Cross Divisional Roundtable. A South American Perspective on Microbial Control: Present Status and Future Trends

Chair: Natasha Sant’Anna Iwanicki

  • Mass production of native entomopathogenic nematodes: the importance of partnership between academia, industry, and government agencies to the development of commercial products. Patricia Navarro
  • Microbial Biocontrol in Argentina: Science Meets Reality. Nicolas Pedrini
  • Emerging non-spore-forming bacterial bioinsecticides: From scientific insights to agricultural implementation. Natasha Sant Anna Iwanicki
  • The fast-growing biocontrol market in Brazil: The contribution of research institutions and universities. Italo Delalibera Júnior
  • Modern Manufacturing: Biological control production in Brazil. Fernando Valicente

Cross Divisional Fungi and DBI. Beneficial invertebrates and fungal associations

Chairs: Ibtissem Ben Fekih, Joseph Ross

  • Cross-kingdom interactions for sustainable aphid management practice. Ibtissem Ben Fekih  
  • Blade-running: behavioral defense against a pathogenic fungus in ants. Enikő Csata
  • Novel Araneopathogenic fungi and environmental community analysis of surrounding entomopathogenic fungal communities from a neotropical forest. Joseph Ross
  • Naturally Occurring Aphid–Fungal Associations. Ibtissem Ben Fekih

Virus Symposium. Arbovirus-Mosquito Interactions

Chairs: Laila Gasmi, Bergmann Ribeiro

  • The virome of vector mosquitoes: implications for disease transmission and beyond. Joao Trindade Marques
  • Emerging Arboviruses and mosquito vector dynamics in Brazil: Insights from genomic surveillance, virome discovery, and resistance mechanisms. Bergmann Ribeiro
  • Transmission and evolution of mosquito-borne viruses. Jelke Fros
  • Towards understanding the virus-blocking mechanism(s) of Wolbachia in mosquitoes. Sassan Asgari

Pan-Divisional Symposium. New Insights into Microbial Control: Emerging Tools and Technologies

Chairs: Umut Toprak, Monique van Oers

  • Beyond Lethality: Gut bacteriome modulation in ticks by entomopathogenic fungi. Patricia Golo
  • RNA interference (RNAi) for control of spider mites. Ken Narva
  • Symbiotic viruses of parasitoid wasps and their potential for improved biological control. Gaelen R. Burke
 
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