Molecular characterization and virulence of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana from Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Abstract

The European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis, Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is one of the most important pest of maize and other crops, such as potato, green pepper, and winter wheat almost all over the world. In this study, we collected larvae from corn fields invaded by O. nubilalis during 2008-2010 in the Eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey and investigated fungal pathogens of this pest. As result of this investigation, one fungal species was isolated from O. nubilalis and it was characterized according to morphological and molecular characteristics. Based on these characteristics, the isolate was identified as Beauveria bassiana. Additionally, insecticidal activity of the isolate was determined on O. nubilalis larvae by testing different concentrations of conidia (1 × 104, 1 × 105, 1 × 106, 1 × 107 and 1 × 108 conidia ml-1). It caused 80% mortality within 13 days after inoculation of 1 × 108 conidia ml-1. Mycosis was calculated as 70% and LC50 value was also calculated as 4.8 × 105 conidia ml-1. These results indicate that Beauveria bassiana Ost3 seems to be a good candidate as biocontrol agent against O. nubilalis.

Keywords

• Beauveria bassiana
• european corn borer
• corn
• LC50

Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)’den elde edilen entomopatojenik fungus Beauveria bassiana’nın moleküler karakterizasyonu ve virulansı

Öz

Mısır kurdu (Ostrinia nubilalis, Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) hemen hemen bütün dünyada mısır, patates, yeşil biber ve kışlık buğday gibi pek çok ürünün en önemli zararlılarından birisidir. Bu çalışmada, 2008-2010 yılları arasında Doğu Karadeniz Bölgesi’nde O. nubilalis tarafından istila edilmiş mısır tarlalarından böcek örnekleri toplanmış ve entomopatojenik fungus yönünden araştırılmıştır. Bu araştırmanın sonucu olarak, O. nubilalis’ten bir fungal örnek izole edildi ve onun morfolojik ve moleküler verilere göre karakterizasyonu yapıldı. Bu karakterlere göre izolat Beauveria bassiana olarak tanımlandı. İlave olarak, bu izolatın O. nubilalis larvaları üzerindeki insektisidal aktivitesi farklı konsantrasyonlarda spor süspansiyonları (1 × 104, 1 × 105, 1 × 106, 1 × 107 and 1 × 108 spor/ml) kullanılarak belirlendi. Uygulama sonrasında, Ost3 1 × 108 spor/ml spor konsantrasyonun uygulanmasından sonra 13 gün içerisinde larvalar üzerinde %80 ölüm oranına neden oldu. Mikoz %70 ve LC50 değeri ise 4.8 × 105 spor/ml olarak hesaplandı. Bu sonuçlar, Beauveria bassiana Ost3’ün O. nubilalis’e karşı biyolojik mücadele etmeni olarak iyi bir aday olduğunu göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Beauveria bassiana
• european corn borer
• corn
• LC50

Kaynakça

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