After 9/11 and the anthrax letter attacks, North America, in particular the United States (U.S.) remains quite vulnerable to an attack (1, 2). According to the article titled “Agroterrorism in the U.S.: Key Security Challenge for the 21st century”, some of the areas in which the U.S. remains vulnerable to attack include: water supplies, food production, food processing, and food distribution. What do these area have in common? They are all connected to agriculture. A bioterrorist attack in which agriculture is the target is termed agroterrorism. Agroterrorism can be defined as “the deliberate introduction of a disease agent, either against livestock or into the food chain, for purposes of undermining stability and/or generating fear.” Agriculture …show more content…
considered to be a relatively soft target for a bioterrorist attack and the likelihood of an attack remains high; as such, this has caught the attention of many.
An attack on the American agriculture system would have numerous consequences. The agricultural sector comprises approximately 13% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but also exports over $50 billion worth in exported products. An agroterrorism attack would severely impact their economy due to a decrease in food production and the possibility of sanctions. Additionally, to compensate for this loss, the cost of food could increase drastically depending on the severity of the attack (1). Why would terrorists chose to commit an act of agroterrorism over the traditional terrorist or a bioterrorist attack? Well, there are numerous reasons for this. Pathogens are quite accessible and therefore, acquiring a pathogen is not an issue. Cost is also a huge determining factor. Gyles states “that a strong biological weapons arsenal …show more content…
could be developed at a cost of about $10 million, compared with $1 billion for a nuclear weapon.” (3) Furthermore, bioterrorist agents can be difficult to disseminate. Most agents would need to be aerosolized or released in large quantities for the attack to be effective (i.e. Yersinia pestis) Because of this, there is an increased risk that the terrorists themselves would become infected. The opposite is true for agroterrorism agents. These pathogens “are highly contagious and spread effectively from a point source”. Most agroterrorism agents do not infect humans, therefore the handling of these agents is not of concern. The release of quantities as small as milligrams is sufficient to cause damage to a countries economy. Agroterrorism agents do not need to be cultured or manipulated in any way, allowing samples to be directly taken from an infected host. An example of this would be obtaining stem rust by collecting a few tillers of wheat. Dissemination is also relatively simple as all that is required is exposing a host organism to the pathogen. Detection can also take some time before a pathogen is detected, which can permit the spread of the pathogen over long distances as in the case of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, the causative agent of wheat stem rust. The biggest challenge with plant pathogens would be ensuring that the environmental conditions are optimal for infection to occur (2). As reported in the article titled “Emerging infectious diseases of plants: pathogen pollution, climate change and agrotechnology drivers”, the global population relies on four primary staples – wheat, rice, maize (corn), and potato (4). If a terrorist targeted any or all of these staples in a coordinated attack, the ramifications would be dire. This paper will discuss a pathogen affecting each staple, any current or previous consequences of infection, a brief overview of control measures, and how each pathogen could be used in an agroterrorist attack. Rice Blast Rice blast originated in China and today, is present in most rice producing countries. In South and Southeast Asia, rice is considered to be a staple crop. In 2000, it was estimated that approximately 600 tons of rice were produced worldwide. This figure is expected to increase to about 40% by 2030. Furthermore, there have been estimates that rice blast decimates enough rice to feed 60 million people every year, which equates to approximately $55 million dollars. Rice blast is a disease that primarily affects rice, but can also affect barely, wheat, turf grasses, and pearl millet. Rice blast is caused by the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe grisea, but is also known as Magnaporthe oryzae. According to Dean RA et al, “Magnaporthe grisea is the most destructive pathogen of rice worldwide”. M. grisea belongs to the phylum Ascomycota. It is capable of reproducing both sexually and asexually. During sexual reproducing, M. grisea produces ascospores that are hyaline, fusiform, and possess three septa. Furthermore, this pathogen has a bipolar mating system, meaning that 2 different alleles regulate the mating process. Sexual mating has not been observed in the field, but can be induced in the lab. Asexual reproduction has been widely documented in the field. The spores that are produced asexually are termed conidia. Conidia are three celled and are produced on top of the conidiophore stalk. The infection cycle of M. grisea commences when an asexual spore is dispersed through the air and lands on a rice leaf. The spore adheres to the cuticle of the rice leaf and germinates. During germination, a germ tube is produced and differentiates into an appressorium. The appressorium induces a turgor pressure which results in the penetration peg being formed. This occurs between 20-23h hours after inoculation. Next, the peg penetrates the host cell and develops bulbous, invasive hyphae, which invade the host cells. The invasion of the host cell usually goes undetected for 2-6 days. Soon after, M. grisea destroys the cell tissues creating sporulating lesions. M. grisea affects all parts of the rice plant. Once a plant is infected, the primary symptom is diamond shaped lesions. Initially, these lesions are grey-green in colour, but eventually change to white-tan with black borders as the infection progresses. Based on multiple studies, there is strong evidence that suggests M. grisea has the capability to manipulate the host cell by inhibiting the expression of the proteins responsible for the defense response; thus, increasing the susceptibility of the host cell for infection. Many strategies have been used to combat and protect the rice plants from infection. Some of these include: crop rotation, fertilization, maintaining water level in rice fields above recommended level, and utilizing high quality seeds. However, despite these strategies rice blast has not been eradicated from any country due to the pathogen overcoming resistance. Farmers have planted rice plants which are resistant to a few of the species of this pathogen. As previously stated, the issue lies with resistance. There are many forms of this pathogen and it is difficult to provide resistance to the plants. Additionally, over time the fungal pathogen will ultimately overcome this resistance – essentially a game of cat and mouse. For example, according to Ribot et al, “most of these resistances [were] broken down after a few years of intensive agricultural use.” Potato Wart Potato wart is an important disease in agriculture that is affecting the organism Solanum tuberosum, also known as the potato. This disease goes by various names in the literature, some of which include potato canker, black scab, potato tumor, and black wart. The causative agent of potato wart is the fungal pathogen Synchytrium endobioticum (1, 2). Synchytrium endobioticum is believed to have originated in South America and evolved alongside the potato.
The disease was brought to Europe and spread around the world via soil plagued with the pathogen and infected potatoes. The first documented case of potato wart in North America was in Newfoundland, Canada over 100 years ago. This occurred due to the importation of diseased potatoes. After the incident in Canada, potato wart surfaced in the U.S. about 4 years later. Similarly, this also occurred due to the importation of approximately 60 million pounds of potatoes from Europe (1). Because of this, North America imposed a ban on potatoes coming from Europe, predominantly from the United Kingdom causing a loss of £1 million or approximately $2 million CAD in today’s value and a decrease in exports by 20% (2). Potato wart disease can cause losses over 50% in contaminated fields. Since then, there have been documented cases of potato wart on every continent. Most often the cases are isolated to small gardens (1, 2). As previously stated, Synchytrium endobioticum is the microorganism responsible for potato wart. S. endobioticum is an obligate parasite that is endobiotic, meaning the pathogen resides within the host, in this case, it is the potato. Furthermore, S. endobioticum is a non-hyphae producing chytrid (1). Instead of hyphae, S. endobioticum possesses sporangia. Each sporangia produces approximately 200-300 motile zoospores
(2). Once winter is over and spring commences , roughly 200-300 haploid zoospores are released from each sporangia on an infected potato. Through the use of a flagellum, the zoospores move through soil until they come into contact with a susceptible portion of a potato. The zoospores have a short lifespan ranging from 1-2 hours once they are released. Because of this short lifespan, the zoospore must embed itself in the host and infect it as soon as possible. Once infection occurs, the potato cells increase in size due to the formation of clusters of sporangia, also known as haploid sori. Within each sorus, there are between 1-9 summer sporangia that once they undergo germination, they produce more zoospores. This process termed secondary infection, repeats several times when the environment is favourable. Repeated infection results in the formation of very large galls. The galls withdraw nutrients from the potato and because of this, as they grow the galls invade plant cells and tissue (1, 2). It has been documented that the size of a gall can “increase in size of up to 1,800 fold within 16 days.” (2) When conditions are not favourable, resting sporangia are formed via the conjugation of zoospores to create a zygote (3). Resting sporangia can lie dormant within the host organism and can survive for up to 50 years (1). As indicated above, for the infection cycle to be initiated, environmental conditions must be favourable. The potato wart thrives in environments that are cool and wet. Additionally, “A soil temperature of at least 8°C (46°F) and water is required for the germination of both winter and summer sporangia and for the dispersal of zoospores.” (1) The most obvious symptom of potato wart disease is the presence of galls (outgrowths) on various parts of the potato plant. The most common locations for gall formation are on the stem base, stolon buds, and tuber eyes, all of which are underground. The galls are generally ground. The size of the outgrowths can range from 1-8 cm, but larger galls have been documented. The galls are white-brown during infection however, once they begin to decay, the galls turn black (1, 2).
Nestle, Marion. Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003.
The United States was built on an agrarian system. The ability to grow crops helped create an economic backbone for the county. The use of fertilizer became a norm in farming and agriculture and was not considered a potentially harmful substance. Modern science in combination with the terrorist mind has looked at fertilizer as a weapon, particularly those containing ammonium nitrate. The Ammonium Nitrate Security Program shows how far the United States has progressed by regressing when the issue of terrorism is presented into the conversation. Terrorists are using readily available tools which can be purchased legally without knowledge of law enforcement personnel.
The potato is the storage part of the plant and so this is where the
Domesticated potatoes were once all belong to one botanical species, Solanum tuberosum; it included thousands of varieties that had diversity in size, shape, color and other characteristics. The potato was first domesticated in the South America Andes, then the Puritans who took Mayflower arrived the land and the First Nations taught them about potatoes. Then the sailors went back to Europe and people started to plant potatoes in Spain, England, France, and many other countries in Europe. Later, potatoes were spread into Africa by the colonists. The crop was once believe to be poisonous by the local farmers who refused to plant them. However, the colonists persuaded the farmers and introduced potatoes as a low-price and high-production crop in substitute of wheat and rice.
Potatoes are a truly globalized crop. They can be found all around the world from the Americas to China, from Africa to Europe. In each of these places, they play their own unique role but the secret to their success is their hardy nature and their nutritional value. They become valuable to some peoples because they are able to grow in geographical locations or in weather situations that would cause other crops to fail. They are also incredibly nutritious, providing all that is necessary for survival. They are, in fact so nutritious that they have throughout history been one of the chief supporters of human life—along with rice, maize, barley, and maniocs (Crosby,169)—and are today one of the four most imported food plants in the world (King). No other crop has the ability to yield such healthful food in such small space (Campbell Bartoletti, 20) It is because of these characteristics that potatoes have remained an influential commodity, spreading from culture to culture, supplying cheap nutrition for the poor, and leading to cultural interaction through both trade and catastrophe created migration.
The morning of September 11, 2001, Americans experienced vulnerability and realized a new fear, the threat of a bioterrorist attack. In the days that followed the terrorist attacks letters tainted with anthrax began appearing in the U.S. mail. Five Americans were killed and 17 were sickened in what became the worst biological attacks in U.S. history (“Amerithrax or Anthrax Investigation”). Bioterrorism is defined as a criminal act against unsuspecting civilians and a threat to national security with the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or germs. An attack of bioterrorism is meant to cause illness or death by microorganisms that are found in nature, but they can be made more harmful because of an increased ability to cause and spread disease which resists medical treatment. These biological agents can spread from person to person or can be released into the food supply, water, or air. They can be hard to detect because they may not cause illness for hours or several days, thus giving terrorists an advantage allowing them to go escape undetected until symptoms arise and an attack is suspected. Biological weapons are appealing because they are often easy to obtain and inexpensive, and can be easily distributed. The main objective of bioterrorism is to cause panic and terror, not necessarily casualties. The social disruption they cause can be far worse than any actual damage.
Watterson, J. C. (1986). Diseases. In Atherton J. G. & Rudich, J. (Eds.), The tomato crop (443-
The potato is actually an underground stem, emerging from each eye is a stem in search of sunlight. Once these initial stems reach the surface and begin to photosynth...
The thought of an attack actually occurring in the United States may seem a little farfetched, but it may be more of a reality than just science fiction. Bioterrorism is a real threat and you can take action to help maintain the threat. Staying informed and alert about diseases and how they spread can help keep the USA a safe place and minimize the effects of a bioterrorism attack. It is up to us to know what to do in case of catastrophe. Stay informed and help keep our country safe!
Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) belongs to family Solanaceae and is one of the most important vegetable cum starch supplying crop having high production per unit area per unit time. Potato, an underground tuber occupies prime position among the cash crops in India. Potatoes are rich source of vitamins, especially C and B and also minerals. Tubers contain 70-80% water, 20.6% carbohydrate, 2.1% protein, 0.3% fat, 1.1% crude fibre and 0.9% ash (Banu et al., 2007). It also contains good amount of essential amino acid like leucine, tryptophane and isolucine (Khurana and Naik, 2003). Among major food crops, potato produces the highest dry matter and edible protein per unit area and time. It can fulfill the requirement of food for human consumption
The operations carried out by the terrorist in the book After the First Death by Robert Cormier share some common characteristics to the Chechen terrorist’s Beslan School Siege. While there are many commonalities between the two attacks, there is also a few differences. To highlight these similarities and differences it is best to focus on three main areas that are common within any terrorist organization. Those three main areas are, motivation, methods, and target selection, it is through these areas where highlighting the similarities and differences can be explained.
Imagine a terrorist without any guns or bombs. Would he or she be considered a real terrorist? The answer is yes; anyone who threatens or endangers the lives of others are terrorists, even those who utilize bacteria and viruses rather than other usual weapons. When people use biological weapons as terrorism, that act is called a bioterrorism. Unfortunately, this actions have been repeated throughout the history, as well as in modern days. They can in fact be far more dangerous than actual weapons.
Terrorist may used these biological agents as a weapon against their enemy in order to achieve their purposes. Because these agents is extremely difficult to detect and most of the time it doesn’t shows any symptoms for several hours to several days. Thus this is an effective and economic way for the terrorist to create public panic and social disruption without getting their own brother killed.
The United States of America has one of the cheapest, most abundant, and safest food supplies throughout the entire world. Consumers have driven our agricultural sector to be one of the most powerful in the world. If producers cannot ensure food safety for consumers, the people who trust agriculturists to produce and process their food will most assuredly admonish the economic livelihood and reputation of agricultural industries.
The backbone of a stable nation, socially and politically, is agriculture. Agriculture is the largest sector that provides a nation with food and employment. Agriculture is currently being affected by climate change and at the same time it is also a contributor to climate change. The drastic elevations in climate change started from the mid to late 20th century and they have been increasing since then (Boisvenue & Running 2006). Climate change is affecting agriculture by interfering with the efficiency of crop production. Agriculture is facing droughts, flooding, sea level elevations, natural disasters, and health hazards for employees. All of these exponents lead to crop failure that creates famines and food prices to rise. On the other side, agriculture is also contributing to climate change through their output of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints. These are caused by the activities that agriculture engages with such as breeding of livestock, ploughing of fields, deforestation, and the use of pesticides and other agrochemicals. Climate change affects countries differently, mainly due to their ability to adapt and their geographical location. Canada and Russia benefit from the changes in climate while Sudan and Bangladesh are affected negatively, struggling to adapt. Agriculture and climate change are interrelated processes that exist mutually making it harder to reduce one without affecting the other.