History of CAIBL

The Chemicals Affecting Insect Behavior Laboratory (CAIBL) was born in 1985 from a merger of the Organic Chemical Synthesis Laboratory and the Biologically Active Natural Products Laboratory, at which time CAIBL had 12 Senior Research Scientist positions (SYs) with Dr. Richard Ridgway as Research Leader (RL). Both the Laboratory and the discipline of chemical ecology are now facing the difficult choices, challenges and changes that accompany the passage from “adolescence” to “adulthood”. How can CAIBL fit-in and contribute in the existing atmosphere of food surpluses, low commodity prices, transgenic crops, funding and manpower constraints, and the renewed emphasis on customers and stakeholders?

To attempt to chart the future for CAIBL it is useful to take stock in our past and pride in our history of accomplishments. Scientists affiliated with CAIBL or its predecessor laboratories discovered the repellent properties of DEET, identified the gypsy moth pheromone, developed trimedlure, and fostered the use of neem in the Western Hemisphere - semiochemicals still widely used today to repel biting arthropods, monitor and suppress gypsy moth outbreaks, detect Mediterranean fruit fly invasions in California and elsewhere, and safely control insect pests, respectively. Basic research on Lepidoptera, especially with the European corn borer and Heliothis species, helped reveal the critical importance of minor pheromone components in insect chemical communication and species isolation. This fundamental research eventually led to a breakthrough in understanding hormonal regulation of pheromone biosynthesis with the identification and sequencing of “Pheromone Biosynthesis Activating Neuropeptide” (PBAN). These are some of the significant accomplishments achieved by the time of the next major reorganization of the Laboratory in 1990.

Prior to the 1990 reorganization, CAIBL personnel had already been displaced and dispersed due to the renovation of Building 007, a process that lasted until February of 1993. The 1990 reorganization of CAIBL (and several other Plant Sciences Institute (PSI) laboratories) entailed transfer of Dr. Ashok Raina to the Insect Biocontrol Laboratory, and the transfer of Drs. James Oliver and Jeffrey Aldrich into CAIBL. Dr. Barbara Leonhardt was appointed RL. As a result of these transfers and retirements of scientists, the Laboratory was reduced to 8 SYs. In the ensuing years CAIBL, as did many ARS laboratories, continued the downward trend caused by scientists retiring or moving on to other jobs and usually not being replaced. This included the promotion of Dr. Leonhardt to Director of PSI in 1994 without replacement. Today CAIBL consists of 5 SYs (three chemists and two entomologists).

Despite the reduction in force of the CAIBL, the productivity of the Laboratory has been maintained and is gaining momentum. Dr. Andre Raw (SY chemist) was hired in 1998, and made important contributions to CAIBL in the area of chiral synthesis; however, on May 15 Dr. Raw announced a career decision to leave the Laboratory for a position in the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Aijun Zhang joined the CAIBL in 1998 as a Research Associate funded largely by emergency money earmarked for pheromone research on the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) and another invasive pest, the pink hibiscus mealybug (PHM). Thanks to the chemical and electrophysiological expertise of Dr. Zhang, the CAIBL and the APHIS quarantine laboratory in Massachusetts now have gas chromatography-electroantennogram detector systems - a crucial technique for state-of-the-art chemical ecology - that have been successfully employed to identify new ALB and PHM semiochemicals. Dr. Zhang has now accepted an SY chemist position in CAIBL and, we hope, will continue to be a valuable member of the team for years to come. The addition of a Research Associate from Spain (Dr. Victor CasaÔa-Giner) and a visiting senior scientist from Brazil (Dr. Miguel Borges) have strengthened our internal programs on fruit fly attractants and control of plant-feeding true bugs, respectively, while culturally enriching the Laboratory and strengthening our international research connections. Due to the leadership of Dr. Jerome Klun who, during his tenure as RL from August 1996, to October 1998, formulated and promoted a strategic plan for “Joint USDA-DoD Research on Repellents for Personal Protection Against Biting Arthropods”, the Laboratory is on the verge of signing an Inter-agency Agreement that will provide nearly a half million dollars to CAIBL to hire a senior-level chemist for four years. Finally, CAIBL stands to gain one permanent SY position if, as predicted, the White House Executive Order on Invasive Species in February 1999, materializes as increased ARS base funding.

Dr. Edward Dougherty (RL, Insect Biocontrol Laboratory) served as Acting RL for the CAIBL for 14 months. In December, 1999, Dr. Jeffrey Aldrich was selected as RL for the Laboratory. With the new hire, CAIBL is now positioned to help thwart invasive species, facilitate organic/sustainable agriculture, control pests immune to transgenic crops, safely combat urban arthropod pests, and “market” chemical ecology to school kids and the public in general. At the same time there are tremendous opportunities for basic research in chemical ecology that, in the long run, may lead to more profound applications. The collaboration of Dr. James Oliver (CAIBL chemist) with Dr. Robert Doss (plant physiologist, ARS, Corvallis, OR) on insect-derived plant regulators has revealed a heretofore unknown class of remarkably active semiochemicals - perhaps the most exciting research in the careers of both these distinguished scientists. Another line of basic research that should be developed in CAIBL is receptor-based, genetic engineering approaches to the search for new repellents and fruit fly attractants. Semiochemicals for parasitoids and predators should play a larger role in managing these beneficials. It may even be feasible to “teach” native natural enemies to recognize major exotic pests - what could be called “non-classical biocontrol.” Clearly, CAIBL has a core of competent, dedicated scientists on which to build both applied and basic semiochemical research programs.