EuroGeoSurveys (EGS) is a not-for-profit organization representing 37 national geological surveysand some regional surveys; it has an overall workforce of several thousand experts. EGS members provide offi-cial, interoperable, homogeneous, reliable, INSPIRE (infrastructure for spatial information in the EuropeanCommunity)-compliant public data on the subsurface for the benefit of society in terms of circular economydevelopment, sustainable management of the subsurface resources, understanding and combatting climatechange and the development of infrastructures and mitigation of geology-related natural hazards. The EGSis committed to establishing a geological service for Europe based on three pillars: (1) joint research withimpact on EU policy level, which is being implemented through the GeoERA programme (Establishing theEuropean Geological Surveys Research Area to deliver a Geological Service for Europe); (2) harmonizingand sharing pan-European geological data, through the European Geological Data Infrastructure (EGDI);and (3) sharing knowledge, capacities and infrastructure, through the pan-African support to the EGS-Organi-zation of African Geological Surveys (OAGS) Partnership (PanAfGeo project). The EGS will continue to sup-port the EU in its transition to a low-carbon, climate-neutral, resource-efficient, socially and environmentallyresilient economy, in full compliance with the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Develop-ment Goals.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Three species of cecidomyiid midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) cause significant yield losses on wheat in Europe: Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin), Contarinia tritici (Kirby) and Haplodiplosis marginata (von Roser). Eggs and young larvae may be parasitised by a complex of hymenopteran parasitoids belonging to the Pteromalidae and Platygastridae families which contributes to natural pest control. We have developed molecular tools for detecting and identifying seven parasitoid species previously encountered in Belgium inside individual wheat midge larvae. Barcode DNA sequences from COI, 18S and 28S genes were obtained from the midges and parasitoid species. Each of the three genes allowed all the species to be distinguished although 18S was the only one displaying a barcoding gap, both between parasitoids and midges, and at the species level. Based on the 18S gene, we developed a TaqMan assay to assess parasitism in midge larvae, regardless of the midge and parasitoid species. Next, two group-specific PCR primer pairs were generated, allowing the separate amplification of midge DNA or parasitoid DNA in parasitised individuals and subsequent identification by Sanger sequencing. Finally, species-specific primers were designed to identify six parasitoid species by simple PCR amplification. These tools were successfully applied to assess the parasitism rate of S. mosellana larvae in seven Belgian fields.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
