Pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae against Galleria mellonella

Abstract

The greater wax moth Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is occasionally found in beehives and is a major pest of stored wax. Entomopathogenic fungi have recently received attention as possible biocontrol elements for certain insect pests. In this study, 90 isolates of Beauveria bassiana and 15 isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae were screened for proteases and lipases production. The results showed significant variations in the enzymatic action between the isolates. In the bioassay, the selected isolates evinced high virulence against the 4th instar of the G. mellonella larvae. The isolates BbaAUMC3076, BbaAUMC3263 and ManA-UMC3085 realized 100% mortality at concentrations of 5.5×10 6 conidia ml −1 , 5.86×10 5 conidia ml −1 , and 4.8×10 6 conidia ml −1 , respectively. Strong enzymatic activities in vitro did not necessarily indicate high virulence against the tested insect pest. The cuticle of the infected larvae became dark and black-spotted, indicating direct attack of fungus on the defense system of the insects. The LC 50 values were 1.43× 10 3 , 1.04×10 5 and 5.06×10 4 for Bba3263AUMC, Bba3076AUMC and Man3085AUMC, respectively, and their slopes were determined by computerized probit analysis program as 0.738±0.008, 0.635± 0.007 and 1.120±0.024, respectively.

The efficacy ofBeauveria bassiana,jasmonic acid and chlorantraniliprole on larval populations ofHelicoverpa armigerain chickpea crop ecosystems

“…bassiana has been reported as a biological control agent against insects. 9,28 In this study, reductions in larval population increased with time following B. bassiana application, with the wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ps maximum reduction at 7 DPA. These results correspond to the results of earlier studies that found that insects infected with B. bassiana died within 3-5 days of hyphal penetration.…”

“…B. bassiana has been reported as a biological control agent against insects . In this study, reductions in larval population increased with time following B. bassiana application, with the maximum reduction at 7 DPA.…”

Infection, colonization and extrusion of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch) Sorokin (Deuteromycotina: Hyphomycetes) in pupae of Diatraea saccharalis F. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

“…These finding probably indicated the degradation of the epicuticle of the host caused by pathogens which entered through the sites of penetration (Vestergaard et al, 1999;Arruda et al, 2005;Zhang et al, 2010;Yan et al, 2011). The cuticle of the Galleria mellonela (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) larvae infected with M. anisopliae and B. bassiana became black-spotted due to excessive melanization, indicating direct attack of the fungus on the defense system of the insects (Hussein et al, 2012).…”

“…In the pupal stage, the insect does not eat and can be affected by entomopathogenic fungi that penetrate through the cuticle. Several orders of insects such as Diptera, Coleoptera, and Thysanoptera are infected in their pupal stage (Watt and Lebrun, 1984;Ekesi and Maniania, 2000;Destéfano et al, 2005;Ansari et al, 2007); however, the infection and colonization mechanism of the pathogen in this stage has been described a little in Lepidoptera, but has not been demonstrated in larvae (Revathi et al, 2011;Hussein et al, 2012).…”

Entomopathogenic Effect of Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) and Metarrhizium anisopliae (Metschn.) on Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)Larvae Under Laboratory and Glasshouse Conditions in Ethiopia

“…It was also reported by another authors differences among lethal times is a tool widely used in selecting strains, because it is interesting that the fungus quickly eliminate its host, as well [13]. These results are disagreed with Khalid et al [14], evaluating the virulence of various strains of B. bassiana and M. anisopliae on G. mellonella larvae using 10 2 , 10 3 , 10 4 , 10 5 and 10 6 conidia ml -1 concentration.…”