Wageningen University View Institution's Website 3 articles published in JoVE Environment Modification and Application of a Leaf Blower-vac for Field Sampling of Arthropods Yi Zou1, Mario D. van Telgen1, Junhui Chen2, Haijun Xiao2, Joop de Kraker3, Felix J. J. A. Bianchi4, Wopke van der Werf1 1Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University, 2Institute of Entomology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, 3Department of Science, Open University, 4Farming Systems Ecology, Wageningen University Assessment of arthropod abundance in crops is critical for investigating population dynamics and species interactions. Here we describe the modification and application of a leaf blower-vac for suction sampling of arthropods in rice. Biology Agroinfiltration and PVX Agroinfection in Potato and Nicotiana benthamiana Juan Du1,2, Hendrik Rietman1, Vivianne G. A. A. Vleeshouwers1 1Wageningen UR Plant Breeding, Wageningen University, 2Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Ministry of Education, National Centre for Vegetable Improvement (Central China), Potato Engineering and Technology Research Centre of Hubei Province, Huazhong Agricultural University Agroinfiltration and PVX agroinfection are routine functional assays for transient ectopic expression of genes in plants. These methods are efficient assays in effectoromics strategies (rapid resistance and avirulence gene discovery) and crucial to modern research in molecular plant pathology. They meet the demand for robust high-throughput functional analysis in plants. Immunology and Infection Avian Influenza Surveillance with FTA Cards: Field Methods, Biosafety, and Transportation Issues Solved Robert H.S. Kraus1, Pim van Hooft1, Jonas Waldenström2, Neus Latorre-Margalef2, Ronald C. Ydenberg1,3, Herbert H.T. Prins1 1Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, 2Section for Zoonotic Ecology and Epidemiology, School of Natural Sciences, Linnaeus University, 3Centre for Wildlife Ecology, Simon Fraser University A method to preserve, detect and sequence RNA from Avian Influenza Viruses was validated and extended using natural faecal samples from birds. This technique removes the necessity of maintaining a cool chain and handling of infectious viruses and can be applied in a 96-well high-throughput setup.