Zikadenschäden im Arznei- und Gewürzpflanzenanbau: Interaktive Lösungsansätze von Wissenschaft, Beratung und Bauern

Leafhopper stippling damages in cultures of medical herbs and spices are increasing since the mid 1990s in various parts of Central Europe. We launched a project within the frame of the Federal Programme for Organic Farming (BÖL) in order to gain information on the taxonomic status of the pest, as well as its basic biology and current distribution. In addition to this we tested whether cicads could be controlled by organic insecticides such as azadirachtin, pyrethrum and quassia, and by entomopathogenic fungi as biological control agents. We found stippling damages of varying extent in nearly all fields under study. The pest has been identified as a complex of species belonging to cicadellids of the subfamily Typhlocybinae. These cicads have feeding mechanisms that differ from the widelyknown “hopper burn” on vegetables and grapevine caused by other cicads. Locally we found high cicad mortality in field populations caused by Entomophthorales and insect parasitoids. Our insecticide tests indicate that the investigated cicades can be partly controlled by Quassia and the entomopathogenic fungus Verticillium lecanii

Sensitivity and Specificity of CD19.CAR-T Cell Detection by Flow Cytometry and PCR

Chimeric-antigen-receptor-T (CAR-T) cells are currently revolutionizing the field of cancer immunotherapy. Therefore, there is an urgent need for CAR-T cell monitoring by clinicians to assess cell expansion and persistence in patients. CAR-T cell manufacturers and researchers need to evaluate transduction efficiency and vector copy number for quality control. Here, CAR expression was analyzed in peripheral blood samples from patients and healthy donors by flow cytometry with four commercially available detection reagents and on the gene level by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Flow cytometric analysis of CAR expression showed higher mean CAR expression values for CD19 CAR detection reagent and the F(ab’)2 antibody than Protein L and CD19 Protein. In addition, the CD19 CAR detection reagent showed a significantly lower median background staining of 0.02% (range 0.007–0.06%) when compared to the F(ab’)2 antibody, CD19 protein and Protein L with 0.80% (range 0.47–1.58%), 0.65% (range 0.25–1.35%) and 0.73% (range 0.44–1.23%). Furthermore, flow cytometry-based CAR-T cell frequencies by CD19 CAR detection reagent showed a good correlation with qPCR results. In conclusion, quality control of CAR-T cell products can be performed by FACS and qPCR. For the monitoring of CAR-T cell frequencies by FACS in patients, CAR detection reagents with a low background staining are preferable