Murray B. Isman, Ph.D.

May 13, 2011 - 4:05pm — Ethan

Dean & Professor, Applied Biology (Entomology/Toxicology)

Education

Ph.D. (Entomology) (1981), University of California, Davis
M.Sc. (Zoology) (1977), University of British Columbia
B.Sc. (Zoology) (1975), University of British Columbia

Research Interests

Development of botanical insecticides and antifeedants. Collaborating with university and industrial partners, we have investigated the development of botanical insecticides derived from the neem tree (Azadirachta indica), from medicinal plants and timber species of southeast Asia and Central America, and from tall oil, a byproduct of the pulp and paper industry. Studies have included isolation and identification of active principles, modes-of-action against pest insects, effects on natural enemies and fish, and efficacy under greenhouse and field conditions. We are currently collaborating on the development of essential oil-based pesticides for EcoSMART Technologies Inc. (USA).

Behavioral and physiological effects of plant defensive chemicals on insects. We have investigated the effects of mixtures of plant chemicals on insect feeding and on the development of resistance to botanical insecticides. Studies have characterized habituation to feeding deterrents in caterpillars, the metabolism of plant defensive chemicals by herbivorous insects, and the pharmacokinetics and fate of plant chemicals in insects.

Research Projects

Host-induced volatiles in tomato as an early warning system for greenhouse pest management: we demonstrated that tomato plants attacked by cabbage loopers emit novel terpenes in quantities related to pest density and duration of feeding. Most importantly, we detected very high levels of these compounds (using an ultrafast portable gas chromatograph) in areas of a commercial greenhouse where insects were feeding at levels that would have gone unnoticed by human scouts (Miresmailli et al. 2010a,b, 2012).
Bioactivity of plant essential oils and their constituents to insects: research in this area accounted for over 1/3rd of the peer-reviewed publications from my laboratory in the past six years. In particular, we demonstrated internal synergy of essential oil constituents – putative ‘active’ compounds did not account for the full toxicity of the chemically complex oils in which they occur – but addition of putatively ‘inactive’ compounds restored full toxicity of the oil (Miresmailli et al, 2006; Jiang et al., 2009). One example of my recognition for this body of work (apart from numerous invitations for symposium papers and book chapters) is that a paper I published in Crop Protection in 2000 has been cited over 400 times according to ISI’s Web of Science.
Readily synthesized feeding and oviposition deterrents for the cabbage looper: screening of mini-libraries of synthetic dialkoxybenzene compounds led to the discovery of some low molecular weight compounds that could be used for nontoxic crop protection (Akhtar et al. 2007, 2010). A US patent application for one such compound has been filed, and a multinational agrochemical company is proposing to partner with my collaborator on further development of this material.
Learning and memory in moths: we originally demonstrated that habituation to oviposition/feeding deterrents in cabbage looper larvae alleviated deterrence to those compounds in subsequent moths – an example of memory persisting through metamorphosis. More recently we have demonstrated that this phenomenon is not a result of ‘chemical legacy’ (traces of the compound on the integument of the insect) but requires gustatory exposure (feeding) in larvae (Akhtar et al. 2009).

Teaching

APBI/BIOL 327 - Introduction to Entomology
APBI 428 - Integrated Pest Management
PHAR 448 - Environmental & Cellular Toxicology (25%)
PLNT 532 - Advanced Insect Physiology

Publications

Refereed Research Papers (last five years)

Stoklosa, A., R. Matraszek, and M.K. Upadhyaya (2012) Phytotoxic activity of clove oil and its constituents and its modification by light intensity in broccoli and common lambsquarters. Weed Science, in press (accepted 19 Apr 2012).

Miresmailli, S., R.M. Gries, G.J. Gries, R.H. Zumar and M.B. Isman (2012) Population density and feeding duration of cabbage looper larvae on tomato plants alter levels of plant volatile emission. Pest Management Science 68: 101-107.

Akhtar, Y., M.B. Isman, C.-H. Lee, S.-G. Lee and H.-S. Lee (2012) Toxicity of quinones against two-spotted spider mite and three species of aphids in laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Industrial Crops and Products 37: 536-541.

Moreau, T.L. and M.B. Isman (2012) Combining reduced-risk products, trap crops and yellow sticky traps for greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) management on sweet peppers (Capsicum annum). Crop Protection 34: 42-46.

Akhtar, Y., E. Pages, A. Stevens, R. Bradbury, C.A.G. da Camara and M.B. Isman. (2012) Effect of chemical complexity of essential oils on feeding deterrence in larvae of the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni. Physiological Entomology 37: 81-91.

Akhtar, Y., M.B. Isman, L.A. Niehaus, C.-H. Lee and H.-S. Lee. (2012) Antifeedant and toxic effects of naturally occurring and synthetic quinines to the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni. Crop Protection 31: 8-14.

Mullinix, K., J.F. Brunner and M.B. Isman (2011) Apple leafroller (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) populations and parasitism in an orchard managed with either a grass or alfalfa cover and without insecticides over four growing seasons. International Journal of Fruit Science 11: 99-110.

Moreau, T.L. and M.B. Isman (2010) Trapping whiteflies? A comparison of greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) responses to trap crops and yellow sticky traps. Pest Management Science 67: 408-413.

Jiang, Z.L., Y. Akhtar, X. Zhang, R. Bradbury and M.B. Isman (2010) Insecticidal and feeding deterrent activities of essential oils in the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Journal of Applied Entomology, in press (published online 18 November 2010).

Shikano, I., Y. Akhtar and M.B. Isman (2010) Relationship between adult and larval host plant selection and larval performance in the generalist moth, Trichoplusia ni. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 4: 197-205.

Miresmailli, S., R. Bradbury and M.B. Isman (2010) Qualitative assessment of an ultra- fast portable gas chromatograph (zNose) for analyzing volatile organic chemicals and essential oils in laboratory and greenhouses. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 4: 175-180.

Shikano, I., Y. Akhtar, M.B. Isman and C.H. Rankin (2010) Dishabituating long-term memory for gustatory habituation in the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni. Behavioral Neuroscience 124: 701-705.

Mullinix, K., M.B. Isman and J.F. Brunner (2010) Key and secondary arthropod pest population trends in apple cultivated over four seasons with no insecticides and having a grass or legume cover. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 34: 584-594.

Machial, C.M., I. Shikano, M. Smirle, R. Bradbury and M.B. Isman (2010) Evaluation of the toxicity of 17 essential oils against Choristoneura rosaceana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) and Trichoplusia ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Pest Management Science 66: 1116-1121.

Miresmailli, S., R.M. Gries, G.J. Gries, R.H. Zumar and M.B. Isman (2010) Using herbivore-induced plant volatiles for detecting cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni, Noctuidae) infestation on greenhouse tomato plants. Pest Management Science 66: 916-924.

Akhtar, Y., Y. Yang, M.B. Isman and E. Plettner (2010) Dialkoxybenzene and dialkoxy-allylbenzene feeding and oviposition deterrents against the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni: potential insect behavior control agents. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 58: 4983-4991.

Seffrin, R. deC., I. Shikano, Y. Akhtar and M.B. Isman (2010) Effects of crude seed extracts of Annona atemoya and A. squamosa L. against the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni in the laboratory and greenhouse. Crop Protection 29: 20-24.

Akhtar, Y, I. Shikano and M.B. Isman (2009) Topical application of a plant extract to different life stages of Trichoplusia ni fails to influence feeding or oviposition behaviour. Entomologia experimentalis et applicata 132: 275-282.

Jiang, Z., Y. Akhtar, R. Bradbury, X. Zhang and M.B. Isman (2009) Comparative toxicity of essential oils of Litsea pungens and Litsea cubeba and blends of their major constituents against the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 57: 4833-4837.

Shikano I. and M.B. Isman (2009) A sensitive period for larval gustatory memory influencing subsequent oviposition choice by the cabbage looper moth, Trichoplusia ni. Animal Behaviour 77: 247-251.

Cutler, G.C., K. Ramanaidu, T. Astakie and M.B. Isman. (2009) Green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae), reproduction during exposure to sublethal concentrations of imidacloprid and azadirachtin. Pest Management Science 65: 205-209.

Isman, M.B., J.A. Wilson and R. Bradbury. (2008) Insecticidal activities of commercial rosemary oils (Rosmarinus officinalis) against larvae of Pseudaletia unipuncta and Trichoplusia ni in relation to their chemical compositions. Pharmaceutical Biology 46: 82-87

Akhtar, Y., Y.-R. Yeoung and M.B. Isman. (2008) Comparative bioactivity of selected extracts from Meliaceae and some commercial botanical insecticides against two noctuid caterpillars, Trichoplusia ni and Pseudaletia unipuncta. Phytochemistry Reviews 7: 77-88

Refereed Review Papers (last five years)

Akhtar, Y. and M.B. Isman (2012) Plant natural products for pest management: the magic of mixtures. In: Advanced Technologies for Managing Insect Pests (I. Ishaaya, S.R. Palli and A.R. Horowitz, eds.), Springer, in press.

Isman, M.B. and G. Paluch (2011) Needles in the haystack: exploring chemical diversity of botanical insecticides, pp. 248-265. In: Green Trends in Insect Control (O. Lopez and J.G. Fernandez-Bolanos, eds.), Royal Society of Chemistry.

Isman, M.B. and S. Miresmailli (2010) Plant essential oils as repellents and deterrents to agricultural pests. In: Recent Developments in Invertebrate and Vertebrate Repellents, J. Coats and G. Paluch (eds.). American Chemical Society Symposium Series, in press (accepted 21 Sept 2010).

Isman, M.B. (2010) Botanical insecticides, deterrents, repellents and oils. In: Industrial Crops and Uses (B. Singh, ed.), CAB International, in press.

Miresmailli, M., D. Badulescu, M. Mahdaviani, R.H. Zumar and M.B. Isman (2010) Integrating plant chemical ecology, sensors and artificial intelligence for accurate pest monitoring. In: Tomatoes: Agricultural Practices, Pathogen Interactions and Health Effects (E.D. Aube and F.H. Poole, eds.), Nova, New York, in press.

Isman, M.B. (2008) Botanical insecticides: For richer, for poorer. Pest Mgmt Sci. 64: 8-11.

Additional Activities

2011 Gold Medal Award, Entomological Society of Canada
T. Leigh Distinguished Alumni Lecture, Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, 2010.
2004 Peter Wall Distinguished Scholar, Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, UBC
Editorial Board Member:
- Jounal of Pest Science (Subject Editor: Plant-derived pesticides)
- Journal of Economic Entomology (Subject Editor: Ecotoxicology)
- Environmental Entomology (Assistant Subject Editor: Insect-Plant Interactions)
- Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (Board Member)
- Phytoparasitica (Board Member)
- Biopesticides International (Regional Editor)
Patent application: Plettner, E. and M.B. Isman. Methods and compositions for control of cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni. US patent application no. 12/622,421 (filed 11 Nov 2009)

Applied Biology

Dean

Entomology

Toxicology

The University of British Columbia