| Potential of different isolates of entomopathogenic fungi from Iran as biological control agents against a model insect, Galleria mellonella |
| Paper ID : 1167-3IICE |
| Authors: |
|
Saeedeh Javar *1, Bita Asgari2 1Biological control research department, Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran 2Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran. |
| Abstract: |
| The present study aimed to investigate the potential of 25 entomopathogenic fungal isolates belonging to 11 species from 6 genera, recovered from different insect hosts in Iran, as biological control agents against the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella as a model insect. The entomopathogenic fungi used in this study are housed in the Iranian Fungal Culture Collection (IRAN…C) of the Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Tehran, Iran. The isolates were cultured on potato dextrose agar (PDA), and the conidial suspensions were prepared by gently harvesting conidia from cultures in sterile distilled water containing 0.05% Tween 80. Larvae of G. mellonella were reared on artificial diet containing wax, honey, glycerin, flour, and yeast in laboratory condition. Pathogenicity of all fungal isolates against forth instar larvae of G. mellonella was assayed at concentration of 2 × 107 conidia/ml. The results showed that 14 out of 25 isolates, belonging to Beauveria bassiana, Isaria tenuipes, Lecanicillium aphanocladii, L. dimorphum, L. lecanii, L. muscarium and Metarhizium anisopliae were pathogenic to G. mellonella, while some isolates belonging to B. bassiana, Isaria farinosa, M. anisopliae, L. aphanocladii, L. lecanii, L. psalliotae and Paecilomyces cinnamomeus were very low- or non-pathogenic. In general, the pathogenicity of all fungi varied significantly according to the fungal isolate. Besides, the variation in the mortality rate among different isolates of examined entomopathogenic fungi revealed the importance of screening of entomopathogenic fungi to identify the most virulent fungal isolates. |
| Keywords: |
| Fungal isolates, Greater wax moth, Mortality, Pathogenicity, Screening |
| Status : Paper Accepted (Poster Presentation) |
