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Khun KK, Wilson BAL, Stevens MM, Huwer RK, Ash GJ. Integration of Entomopathogenic Fungi into IPM Programs: Studies Involving Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) Affecting Horticultural Crops. Insects 2020; 11:E659. [PMID: 32992798 PMCID: PMC7599691 DOI: 10.3390/insects11100659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Revised: 09/20/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Weevils are significant pests of horticultural crops and are largely managed with insecticides. In response to concerns about negative impacts of synthetic insecticides on humans and the environment, entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) have been developed as an alternative method of control, and as such appear to be "ready-made" components of integrated pest management (IPM) programs. As the success of pest control requires a thorough knowledge of the biology of the pests, this review summarises our current knowledge of weevil biology on nut trees, fruit crops, plant storage roots, and palm trees. In addition, three groups of life cycles are defined based on weevil developmental habitats, and together with information from studies of EPF activity on these groups, we discuss the tactics for integrating EPF into IPM programs. Finally, we highlight the gaps in the research required to optimise the performance of EPF and provide recommendations for the improvement of EPF efficacy for the management of key weevils of horticultural crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Khuy Khun
- Faculty of Agronomy, Royal University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 2696, Dangkor District, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Centre for Crop Health, Institute for Life Sciences and the Environment, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350, Australia; (B.A.L.W.); (G.J.A.)
| | - Bree A. L. Wilson
- Centre for Crop Health, Institute for Life Sciences and the Environment, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350, Australia; (B.A.L.W.); (G.J.A.)
| | - Mark M. Stevens
- NSW Department of Primary Industries, Yanco Agricultural Institute, Yanco, New South Wales 2703, Australia;
- Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (NSW Department of Primary Industries and Charles Sturt University), Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2650, Australia
| | - Ruth K. Huwer
- NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wollongbar Primary Industries Institute, Wollongbar, New South Wales 2477, Australia;
| | - Gavin J. Ash
- Centre for Crop Health, Institute for Life Sciences and the Environment, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350, Australia; (B.A.L.W.); (G.J.A.)
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Khun KK, Ash GJ, Stevens MM, Huwer RK, Wilson BAL. Response of the macadamia seed weevil Kuschelorhynchus macadamiae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana in laboratory bioassays. J Invertebr Pathol 2020; 174:107437. [PMID: 32593532 DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2020.107437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Revised: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Macadamia seed weevil, Kuschelorhynchus macadamiae Jennings and Oberprieler, is a major pest of macadamia in eastern Australia, causing yield losses of up to 15%. Current control methods involve two applications of acephate per season but more recently have moved to a single application of indoxacarb, combined with the collection and destruction of fallen nuts that contain developing larvae. As a first step towards reducing the dependence of the industry on synthetic insecticides, we tested six isolates of M. anisopliae, six isolates of B. bassiana and one commercial B. bassiana product (Velifer® biological insecticide) against adult macadamia seed weevil under laboratory conditions. All isolates were pathogenic against adult weevils with M. anisopliae accession ECS1/BRIP 70272 and B. bassiana accession B27/BRIP 70267 causing 97.5% and 92.5% mortality 12 days after being treated at 1 × 107 conidia/mL. Isolates ECS1/BRIP 70272 and B27/BRIP 70267 had the shortest LT50 values of 5.13 days and 5.37 days respectively. The median lethal concentrations (LC50) for ECS1/BRIP 70272 and B27/BRIP 70267 were 1.48 × 105 and 1.65 × 105 conidia/mL respectively. Results of this study indicate that M. anisopliae accession ECS1/BRIP 70272 and B. bassiana accession B27/BRIP 70267 have considerable potential for K. macadamiae control, and should be developed into biological insecticides for integration into macadamia pest management programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Khuy Khun
- Faculty of Agronomy, Royal University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 2696, Dangkor District, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Centre for Crop Health, Institute for Life Sciences and the Environment, University of Southern Queensland, Queensland 4350, Australia.
| | - Gavin J Ash
- Centre for Crop Health, Institute for Life Sciences and the Environment, University of Southern Queensland, Queensland 4350, Australia
| | - Mark M Stevens
- Yanco Agricultural Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industries, New South Wales 2703, Australia; Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (NSW Department of Primary Industries and Charles Sturt University), Australia
| | - Ruth K Huwer
- Wollongbar Primary Industries Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industries, New South Wales 2477, Australia
| | - Bree A L Wilson
- Centre for Crop Health, Institute for Life Sciences and the Environment, University of Southern Queensland, Queensland 4350, Australia
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Korosi GA, Wilson BAL, Powell KS, Ash GJ, Reineke A, Savocchia S. Occurrence and diversity of entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria spp. and Metarhizium spp.) in Australian vineyard soils. J Invertebr Pathol 2019; 164:69-77. [PMID: 31078548 DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2019.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2018] [Revised: 05/06/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Entomopathogenic Ascomycetes: Hypocreales fungi occur worldwide in the soil; however, the abundance and distribution of these fungi in a vineyard environment is unknown. A survey of Australian vineyards was carried out in order to isolate and identify entomopathogenic fungi. A total of 240 soil samples were taken from eight vineyards in two states (New South Wales and Victoria). Insect baiting (using Tenebrio molitor) and soil dilution methods were used to isolate Beauveria spp. and Metarhizium spp. from all soil samples. Of the 240 soil samples, 60% contained either Beauveria spp. (26%) or Metarhizium spp. (33%). Species of Beauveria and Metarhizium were identified by sequencing the B locus nuclear intergenic region (Bloc) and elongation factor-1 alpha (EFT1) regions, respectively. Three Beauveria species (B. bassiana, B. australis and B. pseudobassiana) and six Metarhizium species (M. guizhouense, M. robertsii, M. brunneum, M. flavoviride var. pemphigi, M. pingshaense and M. majus) were identified. A new sister clade made up of six isolates was identified within B. australis. Two potentially new phylogenetic species (six isolates each) were found within the B. bassiana clade. This study revealed a diverse community of entomopathogenic fungi in sampled Australian vineyard soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gyongyver A Korosi
- National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Boorooma St, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2650, Australia.
| | - Bree A L Wilson
- Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Boorooma St, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2650, Australia
| | - Kevin S Powell
- National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Boorooma St, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2650, Australia; Agriculture Victoria, Rutherglen Centre, Rutherglen, Victoria 3685, Australia; Australian Wine Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Gavin J Ash
- Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Boorooma St, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2650, Australia
| | - Annette Reineke
- Hochschule Geisenheim University, Department of Crop Protection, Geisenheim 65366, Germany
| | - Sandra Savocchia
- National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Boorooma St, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2650, Australia
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Lu H, Wilson BAL, Ash GJ, Woruba SB, Fletcher MJ, You M, Yang G, Gurr GM. Determining putative vectors of the Bogia Coconut Syndrome phytoplasma using loop-mediated isothermal amplification of single-insect feeding media. Sci Rep 2016; 6:35801. [PMID: 27786249 PMCID: PMC5082361 DOI: 10.1038/srep35801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Accepted: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Phytoplasmas are insect vectored mollicutes responsible for disease in many economically important crops. Determining which insect species are vectors of a given phytoplasma is important for managing disease but is methodologically challenging because disease-free plants need to be exposed to large numbers of insects, often over many months. A relatively new method to detect likely transmission involves molecular testing for phytoplasma DNA in sucrose solution that insects have fed upon. In this study we combined this feeding medium method with a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay to study 627 insect specimens of 11 Hemiptera taxa sampled from sites in Papua New Guinea affected by Bogia coconut syndrome (BCS). The LAMP assay detected phytoplasma DNA from the feeding solution and head tissue of insects from six taxa belonging to four families: Derbidae, Lophopidae, Flatidae and Ricaniidae. Two other taxa yielded positives only from the heads and the remainder tested negative. These results demonstrate the utility of combining single-insect feeding medium tests with LAMP assays to identify putative vectors that can be the subject of transmission tests and to better understand phytoplasma pathosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hengyu Lu
- Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Bree A. L. Wilson
- Graham Centre, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2650, Australia
- Centre for Crop Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, 4350, Australia
| | - Gavin J. Ash
- Graham Centre, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2650, Australia
- Centre for Crop Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, 4350, Australia
| | - Sharon B. Woruba
- Cocoa and Coconut Research Institute, Madang, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea
| | - Murray J. Fletcher
- Graham Centre, Charles Sturt University, Orange, New South Wales 2800, Australia
| | - Minsheng You
- Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Guang Yang
- Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Geoff M. Gurr
- Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
- Graham Centre, Charles Sturt University, Orange, New South Wales 2800, Australia
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Gurr GM, Johnson AC, Ash GJ, Wilson BAL, Ero MM, Pilotti CA, Dewhurst CF, You MS. Coconut Lethal Yellowing Diseases: A Phytoplasma Threat to Palms of Global Economic and Social Significance. Front Plant Sci 2016; 7:1521. [PMID: 27833616 PMCID: PMC5080360 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.01521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2016] [Accepted: 09/26/2016] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The recent discovery of Bogia coconut syndrome in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the first report of a lethal yellowing disease (LYD) in Oceania. Numerous outbreaks of LYDs of coconut have been recorded in the Caribbean and Africa since the late Nineteenth century and have caused the death of millions of palms across several continents during the Twentieth century. Despite the severity of economic losses, it was only in the 1970s that the causes of LYDs were identified as phytoplasmas, a group of insect-transmitted bacteria associated with diseases in many other economically important crop species. Since the development of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology, knowledge of LYDs epidemiology, ecology and vectors has grown rapidly. There is no economically viable treatment for LYDs and vector-based management is hampered by the fact that vectors have been positively identified in very few cases despite many attempted transmission trials. Some varieties and hybrids of coconut palm are known to be less susceptible to LYD but none are completely resistant. Optimal and current management of LYD is through strict quarantine, prompt detection and destruction of symptomatic palms, and replanting with less susceptible varieties or crop species. Advances in technology such as loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) for detection and tracking of phytoplasma DNA in plants and insects, remote sensing for identifying symptomatic palms, and the advent of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based tools for gene editing and plant breeding are likely to allow rapid progress in taxonomy as well as understanding and managing LYD phytoplasma pathosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoff M. Gurr
- State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Fujain Agriculture and Forestry UniversityFuzhou, China
- Institute of Applied Ecology, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityFuzhou, China
- Graham Centre of Agricultural Innovation, Charles Sturt UniversityOrange, NSW, Australia
| | - Anne C. Johnson
- Graham Centre of Agricultural Innovation, Charles Sturt UniversityOrange, NSW, Australia
| | - Gavin J. Ash
- Research and Innovation Division, Centre for Crop Health, Institute for Agriculture and the Environment, University of Southern QueenslandToowoomba, QLD, Australia
| | - Bree A. L. Wilson
- Research and Innovation Division, Centre for Crop Health, Institute for Agriculture and the Environment, University of Southern QueenslandToowoomba, QLD, Australia
| | - Mark M. Ero
- PNG Oil Palm Research AssociationKimbe, Papua New Guinea
| | | | - Charles F. Dewhurst
- Formerly affiliated with the PNG Oil Palm Research AssociationKimbe, Papua New Guinea
| | - Minsheng S. You
- State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Fujain Agriculture and Forestry UniversityFuzhou, China
- Institute of Applied Ecology, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityFuzhou, China
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Pattemore JA, Hane JK, Williams AH, Wilson BAL, Stodart BJ, Ash GJ. The genome sequence of the biocontrol fungus Metarhizium anisopliae and comparative genomics of Metarhizium species. BMC Genomics 2014; 15:660. [PMID: 25102932 PMCID: PMC4133081 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2013] [Accepted: 07/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Metarhizium anisopliae is an important fungal biocontrol agent of insect pests of agricultural crops. Genomics can aid the successful commercialization of biopesticides by identification of key genes differentiating closely related species, selection of virulent microbial isolates which are amenable to industrial scale production and formulation and through the reduction of phenotypic variability. The genome of Metarhizium isolate ARSEF23 was recently published as a model for M. anisopliae, however phylogenetic analysis has since re-classified this isolate as M. robertsii. We present a new annotated genome sequence of M. anisopliae (isolate Ma69) and whole genome comparison to M. robertsii (ARSEF23) and M. acridum (CQMa 102). Results Whole genome analysis of M. anisopliae indicates significant macrosynteny with M. robertsii but with some large genomic inversions. In comparison to M. acridum, the genome of M. anisopliae shares lower sequence homology. While alignments overall are co-linear, the genome of M. acridum is not contiguous enough to conclusively observe macrosynteny. Mating type gene analysis revealed both MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 genes present in M. anisopliae suggesting putative homothallism, despite having no known teleomorph, in contrast with the putatively heterothallic M. acridum isolate CQMa 102 (MAT1-2) and M. robertsii isolate ARSEF23 (altered MAT1-1). Repetitive DNA and RIP analysis revealed M. acridum to have twice the repetitive content of the other two species and M. anisopliae to be five times more RIP affected than M. robertsii. We also present an initial bioinformatic survey of candidate pathogenicity genes in M. anisopliae. Conclusions The annotated genome of M. anisopliae is an important resource for the identification of virulence genes specific to M. anisopliae and development of species- and strain- specific assays. New insight into the possibility of homothallism and RIP affectedness has important implications for the development of M. anisopliae as a biopesticide as it may indicate the potential for greater inherent diversity in this species than the other species. This could present opportunities to select isolates with unique combinations of pathogenicity factors, or it may point to instability in the species, a negative attribute in a biopesticide. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-660) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie A Pattemore
- Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga 2650, NSW, Australia.
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