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. 2019 Aug 26;10(9):270.
doi: 10.3390/insects10090270.

Performance of Three Isolates of Metarhizium Anisopliae and Their Virulence against Zeugodacus Cucurbitae under Different Temperature Regimes, with Global Extrapolation of Their Efficiency

Susan K Onsongo  1   2 , Bernard M Gichimu  3 , Komivi S Akutse  4 , Thomas Dubois  4 , Samira A Mohamed  4
Affiliations

Performance of Three Isolates of Metarhizium Anisopliae and Their Virulence against Zeugodacus Cucurbitae under Different Temperature Regimes, with Global Extrapolation of Their Efficiency

Susan K Onsongo et al. Insects. .

Abstract

The performance of entomopathogenic fungi in pest control is usually affected by both biotic and abiotic factors. This study aimed to determine the effects of various temperatures (15, 20, 25 and 30 °C) on conidial germination, mycelial growth and conidial density and virulence to the melon fly Zeugodacus cucurbitae of three selected isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae. The three isolates, ICIPE 18, ICIPE 30 and ICIPE 69, had previously been selected in laboratory bioassays. Percentage mortality by the three isolates ranged between 16.25% and 100.0% across the different temperatures. The isolates ICIPE 69 and ICIPE 18 recorded the highest percentage mortality of 96.25% and 100% and the shortest LT50 values of 2.61 and 2.63 days, respectively, at 30 °C. However, at 30 °C, ICIPE 69 produced the highest number of conidia of 90.5 × 107 /mL and was therefore selected for global mapping to predict its efficacy against Z. cucurbitae using the geospatial temperature data layer and the best fitted quadratic model. The map showed that the isolate would be more effective in the tropics than in temperate climates.

Keywords: entomopathogenic fungus; germination; melon fly; percentage mortality; radial growth; sporulation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. “The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results”.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A mycosed adult melon fly (Zaugodacus cucurbitae) due to Metarhizium anisopliae.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of temperature on conidia production/sporulation of the three Metarhizium anisopliae isolates. Means with the same lowercase letter are not significantly different under same temperature among different isolates while those with the same upper case letter are not significantly different under same isolate across different temperature based on Tukey’s HSD multiple range test at p = 0. 05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Temperature-dependent percentage mortality rates of adult Z. cucurbitae. ICIPE 18 (A), ICIPE 30 (B) and ICIPE 69 (C). Markers are observed mean mortalities. AIC is Akaike information criterion and BIC is Bayesian information criterion.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Global map predicting the efficacy of M. anisopliae isolate ICIPE 69 against Z. cucurbitae using the geospatial temperature data layer and the best fitted quadratic model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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