UF/IFAS investigates "birth-control" virus to control houseflies T hanks to UF/IFAS faculty members Verena-Ulrike BlaeskeLietze and Drion Boucias, the common housefly may soon find it difficult to reproduce. Also known as "filth flies," these insects cause massive contamination at dairy and poultry operations and swarm in such large populations, they've sparked lawsuits by homeowners near production facilities. Blaeske-Lietze and Boucias have launched a high-tech quest to rid dairy and poultry producers and their neighbors of exploding housefly populations, to protect human health from the contamination and diseases the flies spread, and to protect the environment by reducing the amount of pesticide used to control houseflies. That quest led Boucias to Seibersdorf, Austria in July 2005, with help from a travel grant from UF/IFAS International Programs. Boucias met with colleagues from the University of Montpellier, located in France, and Austria American dairy p with International pesticide costs to poultry operation Atomic Energy proposed UF/IFA Agency (IAEA) Austria and Fran for dairy and pou staff at IAEA's will help save mo Seibersdorf facility. Those meetings allowed Boucias to study the effects of an uncharacterized Salivary Gland Hyperplasia1 (SGH) virus in tsetse flies, which acts as a "birth-control agent," rendering both females and males sterile. A similar virus found in Florida's feral housefly populations also acts as a biological birth control agent. The proposal that Boucias and his colleagues are putting together will pair UF/IFAS faculty with researchers in Austria, France, and Kenya. Proposed research will provide fundamental knowledge on the biology and pathology of the virus, as well as its bio-control potential.-:. CONTACT: Drion Boucias, DGBoucias@ifas.ufl.edu Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) from page 1 economic or social assessment of land tenure (rural or urban). Several major challenges arise in the bidding and implementation process. First, the requests often require a broad range of expertise and second, the response time demanded is often very short. Thus it is very difficult for universities to compete as providers of technical and consulting needs. To reduce the impact of those dhallenges, we formed a consortium of universities, with the University of Georgia taking the lead, and developed a provider's proposal. In addition, Collins and Company, a consulting firm employed by NASULGC, pulled together a number of U.S. universities and submitted a provider's proposal. UF/IFAS faculty are also included in that consulting group. By joining these two groups, we have increased the likelihood that our faculty can get involved in consulting, research, training, and other activities as needed. The cooperation of our faculty members in submitting CVs under very short notice is greatly appreciated. If either of the consortiums is successful in being selected, there will likely be an opportunity for more faculty members to participate.:* Roger Natzke is senior associate dean and director of UF/IFAS International Programs roducers lose $30 million annually in control common houseflies. National losses are $20 million a year. The S cooperative research partnership with :e offers a potential bio-control method ltry "filth flies." The bio-control project ney and protect the environment. New study abroad programs in Europe Greece, Italy, Spain effrey Brecht, UF/IFAS Research Foundation Professor with the Horticultural Sciences Department, announced that Memoranda of Understanding have been signed creating study abroad programs in Greece and Italy, under a USDE FIPSE grant. An MOU for a third program in Spain, is underway. The new study abroad MOUs will provide an internationally based curriculum that increases professional skills of graduate students and advanced undergraduates in postharvest technology of horticultural crops, including fresh-cut produce. Curriculum will cover post-harvest biology, physiology, and pathology of horticultural crops; quality assessment; equipment engineering; logistics and technology of perishable transportation; marketing aspects related to fruits and vegetables; and international legislation. Eight scholarships are available for travel and subsistence at cooperating universities for three months: the University of Thessaly, Eastern Greece; the University of Foggia in Foggia, Italy, and the University of Cordoba in Cordoba, Spain. oo CONTACT: Jeffrey Brecht JKBrecht@ifas.ufl.edu 2 Focus ..