Phenotypic and molecular characterization of the causal agent of chafer beetle mortality in the wheat fields of the Kurdistan province, Iran

Abstract

We report the first case of chafer beetle [Anisoplia austriaca(Herbst 1783)] mortality caused byActinomucor elegansvar.elegansin wheat fields of the Kurdistan province, Iran. For three years, dead larvae ofAnisoplia austriacawere collected from wheat fields of the Kurdistan province. Similar isolates of a fast-growing fungus were recovered from all samples. The fungal isolates were identified asA. elegansvar.elegansbased on morphological and cultural characteristics. The identity of the species was further confirmed using sequence data of the ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) region of ribosomal DNA. Koch’s postulates were fulfilled by the inoculation of the larvae ofA. austriacaandGalleria mellonella(Linnaeus, 1758) (as the model insect) using the spore suspension ofA. elegansvar.elegans. The viability of sporangiospores was evaluated using a spore dilution technique on germination medium. The results on the pathogenicity (100% mortality inA. austriacalarvae) and viability tests (germination: 95.45%) demonstrated thatA. elegansvar.eleganscan be considered as a potential biocontrol agent against the chafer beetle. Field experiments are still required to evaluate the capacity ofA. elegansas a biological control agent.

Updates on the Taxonomy of Mucorales with an Emphasis on Clinically Important Taxa

“…However, for most species, the data are not sufficient to accurately assess their ecological niche or geographic distribution. For example, Actinomucor elegans was thought to be a saprotrophic soil fungus [131] until it was shown that it efficiently infects chafer beetle [132]. Even from the existing data, it can be safely concluded that the Mucorales are ecologically highly diverse.…”

“…Most of our information on the ecology and distribution of species is based on the source provided by culture collections and clinical studies. The number of studies directly addressing the natural habitats of Mucorales [132,[136][137][138][139][140] is very limited. Taxa such as Apophysomyces, Saksenaea, and Mucor circinatus (misapplied: Circinella simplex) seem to show a distribution in tropical and subtropical regions.…”

Phylogenetic Status of Two Undescribed Zygomycete Species from Korea:Actinomucor elegansandMucor minutus

“…A. elegans var. elegans has been reported as a potential biocontrol agent against the chafer beetle [ 11 ].…”

Early-diverging fungal phyla: taxonomy, species concept, ecology, distribution, anthropogenic impact, and novel phylogenetic proposals

“…Thus, the information regarding the taxonomy and ecology of Mucoromycota could advance considerably if there were more taxonomists willing to do inventories of these fungal species, specifically in poorly or unexplored habitats/hosts (Hawksworth and Rossman 1997 ; Hawksworth 2001a , b ; Aime and Brearley 2012 ), thereby revealing unforeseen ecological interactions. For example, the well-known saprotrophic fruit parasite, Gilbertella persicaria (Mehrotra 1963a , 1963b ; Guo et al 2012 ; Pinho et al 2014 ), was found infecting the black tiger shrimp ( Penaeus monodon ) (Karthikeyan and Gopalakrishnan 2014 ), while Actinomucor elegans , a saprotrophic soil fungus, which is occasionally involved in causing mucormycosis, has been reported to infect chafer beetle (Karimi et al 2015 ). This fungus has also been found in a mutualistic association with Abutilon theophrasti roots (Kia et al 2014 ).…”