Virulence Bioassay of Entomopathogenic Fungi against Adults of <i>Atta mexicana</i> under Controlled Conditions
Leafcutter ants (<i>Atta</i> spp.) are one of the mos t economically harmful pests in agriculture, considered dominant in the Neotropics and South America. Mature colonies of <i>A. mexicana</i> have a great economic impact on Mexico’s agriculture. Microbial agents in the form...
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MDPI AG
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| author | Luis J. Amaro Leal Arturo Huerta de la Peña Ignacio Ocampo Fletes Pedro Antonio López Nemesio Villa-Ruano Omar Romero-Arenas |
| author_facet | Luis J. Amaro Leal Arturo Huerta de la Peña Ignacio Ocampo Fletes Pedro Antonio López Nemesio Villa-Ruano Omar Romero-Arenas |
| author_sort | Luis J. Amaro Leal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Leafcutter ants (<i>Atta</i> spp.) are one of the mos t economically harmful pests in agriculture, considered dominant in the Neotropics and South America. Mature colonies of <i>A. mexicana</i> have a great economic impact on Mexico’s agriculture. Microbial agents in the form of biopesticides are an effective component of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies and may present a better alternative to synthetic insecticides. Among the fungi most used as biological insecticides there are <i>Beauveria bassiana</i> and <i>Metarhizium anisopliae</i>. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of the entomopathogenic fungi <i>B. bassiana</i> and <i>M. anisopliae</i> of commercial origin and a native strain of <i>B. bassiana</i> from México (MA-Bb1) on adults of <i>Atta mexicana</i> under controlled conditions. In the bioassay, five formulations and a control group were tested (<i>B. bassiana</i> MA-Bb1, <i>B. bassiana</i> MA-Bb1+ Diatomin<sup>®</sup>, <i>B. bassiana</i><sup>®</sup>, <i>M. anisopliae</i><sup>®</sup>, Diatomin<sup>®</sup>, and Tween 80 (0.01%). The MA-Bb1+ Diatomin<sup>®</sup> biopreparation induced the highest mortality (100%) in four-week-old <i>A. mexicana</i>, followed by the MA-Bb1, <i>M. anisopliae</i><sup>®</sup>, and <i>B. bassiana</i><sup>®</sup> biopreparations, which caused mortality of 83.33%, 73.98%, and 68.70%, respectively. Treatments containing <i>B. bassiana</i> and <i>M. anisopliae</i> were efficient in controlling <i>A. mexicana</i> under controlled conditions. The most efficient biological control was achieved with the <i>B. bassiana</i> fungus and Diatomin<sup>®</sup>, which presented the highest total death rate in <i>A. mexicana</i> 96 h post infection, in contrast to the control group (Tween 80), which attained the lowest speed of death in the present investigation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:48:27Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:48:27Z |
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| spelling | doaj.art-0cfb5ce1843b4396aa64efc976d109642024-04-12T13:15:31ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-04-01147303910.3390/app14073039Virulence Bioassay of Entomopathogenic Fungi against Adults of <i>Atta mexicana</i> under Controlled ConditionsLuis J. Amaro Leal0Arturo Huerta de la Peña1Ignacio Ocampo Fletes2Pedro Antonio López3Nemesio Villa-Ruano4Omar Romero-Arenas5Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Puebla, Boulevard Forjadores de Puebla No. 205, Santiago Momoxpan, Municipio de San Pedro Cholula, Puebla C.P. 72760, MexicoColegio de Postgraduados, Campus Puebla, Boulevard Forjadores de Puebla No. 205, Santiago Momoxpan, Municipio de San Pedro Cholula, Puebla C.P. 72760, MexicoColegio de Postgraduados, Campus Puebla, Boulevard Forjadores de Puebla No. 205, Santiago Momoxpan, Municipio de San Pedro Cholula, Puebla C.P. 72760, MexicoColegio de Postgraduados, Campus Puebla, Boulevard Forjadores de Puebla No. 205, Santiago Momoxpan, Municipio de San Pedro Cholula, Puebla C.P. 72760, MexicoCONAHCyT-Centro Universitario de Vinculación y Transferencia de Tecnología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Prolongación de la 24 Sur y Av. San Claudio, Ciudad Universitaria. Col. San Manuel, Puebla C.P. 72570, MexicoCentro de Agroecología, Instituto de Ciencias, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Edificio VAL 1, Km 1.7 carretera a San Baltazar Tetela, San Pedro Zacachimalpa, Puebla C.P. 72960, MexicoLeafcutter ants (<i>Atta</i> spp.) are one of the mos t economically harmful pests in agriculture, considered dominant in the Neotropics and South America. Mature colonies of <i>A. mexicana</i> have a great economic impact on Mexico’s agriculture. Microbial agents in the form of biopesticides are an effective component of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies and may present a better alternative to synthetic insecticides. Among the fungi most used as biological insecticides there are <i>Beauveria bassiana</i> and <i>Metarhizium anisopliae</i>. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of the entomopathogenic fungi <i>B. bassiana</i> and <i>M. anisopliae</i> of commercial origin and a native strain of <i>B. bassiana</i> from México (MA-Bb1) on adults of <i>Atta mexicana</i> under controlled conditions. In the bioassay, five formulations and a control group were tested (<i>B. bassiana</i> MA-Bb1, <i>B. bassiana</i> MA-Bb1+ Diatomin<sup>®</sup>, <i>B. bassiana</i><sup>®</sup>, <i>M. anisopliae</i><sup>®</sup>, Diatomin<sup>®</sup>, and Tween 80 (0.01%). The MA-Bb1+ Diatomin<sup>®</sup> biopreparation induced the highest mortality (100%) in four-week-old <i>A. mexicana</i>, followed by the MA-Bb1, <i>M. anisopliae</i><sup>®</sup>, and <i>B. bassiana</i><sup>®</sup> biopreparations, which caused mortality of 83.33%, 73.98%, and 68.70%, respectively. Treatments containing <i>B. bassiana</i> and <i>M. anisopliae</i> were efficient in controlling <i>A. mexicana</i> under controlled conditions. The most efficient biological control was achieved with the <i>B. bassiana</i> fungus and Diatomin<sup>®</sup>, which presented the highest total death rate in <i>A. mexicana</i> 96 h post infection, in contrast to the control group (Tween 80), which attained the lowest speed of death in the present investigation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/7/3039mortality<i>B. bassiana</i><i>M. anisopliae</i>integrated pest management |
| spellingShingle | Luis J. Amaro Leal Arturo Huerta de la Peña Ignacio Ocampo Fletes Pedro Antonio López Nemesio Villa-Ruano Omar Romero-Arenas Virulence Bioassay of Entomopathogenic Fungi against Adults of <i>Atta mexicana</i> under Controlled Conditions Applied Sciences mortality <i>B. bassiana</i> <i>M. anisopliae</i> integrated pest management |
| title | Virulence Bioassay of Entomopathogenic Fungi against Adults of <i>Atta mexicana</i> under Controlled Conditions |
| title_full | Virulence Bioassay of Entomopathogenic Fungi against Adults of <i>Atta mexicana</i> under Controlled Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Virulence Bioassay of Entomopathogenic Fungi against Adults of <i>Atta mexicana</i> under Controlled Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Virulence Bioassay of Entomopathogenic Fungi against Adults of <i>Atta mexicana</i> under Controlled Conditions |
| title_short | Virulence Bioassay of Entomopathogenic Fungi against Adults of <i>Atta mexicana</i> under Controlled Conditions |
| title_sort | virulence bioassay of entomopathogenic fungi against adults of i atta mexicana i under controlled conditions |
| topic | mortality <i>B. bassiana</i> <i>M. anisopliae</i> integrated pest management |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/7/3039 |
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