Abstract
The impact of ambient relative humidity (RH) on conidial production of Metarhizium humberi IP 46 microsclerotia (MS) formulated in pellets or granules was investigated, and a promising granular formulation was tested against Aedes aegypti adults to confirm its efficacy. Microcrystalline cellulose (MC) and diatomaceous earth (DE) or a combination of vermiculite (VE), DE and silicon dioxide (SD) were tested as carriers in granular formulations containing MS. A range of 93–96.5% RH was critical for fungal development, and at least 96.5–98.5% RH was required for high conidial production on pellets or granules. Conidial production was clearly higher on pellets and granules prepared with VE than MC as the main carrier. VE granules containing MS were highly active against A. aegypti adults. Most mosquitoes were killed within 6 days after treatment regardless of the exposure time of adults to the formulation (1 min–24 h) or ambient humidity (75 or >98%). Production of conidia on dead adults varied between 7.3 × 106 and 2.2 × 107 conidia/individual, when exposed to MS granules for 12 h and 1 min, respectively. Granular formulations containing VE as the main carrier and MS as the active ingredient of M. humberi have strong potential for use against A. aegypti.
Key points
• High conidial production on granular microsclerotial formulations at >96.5% RH
• Vermiculite is more appropriate as a carrier than microcrystalline cellulose
• Granules with IP 46 microsclerotia are highly active against Aedes aegypti adults
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Data availability
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Elen Regozino Muniz and Prof. Walquíria Arruda (ICB, UFG) for technical assistance, and Prof. Eliana M. Lima, coordinator of FARMATEC-UFG for providing facilities.
Funding
This study was supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, CNPq, Universal (14/2012 48329/2012-0), Coordination of the Improvement of Higher Education, CAPES/MEC, CNPq/MCTI and Brazilian Ministry of Health, Decit/SCTIE/MS (440506/2016) and scholarships to JR, AC and FP (CNPq) and to AS, JM and TS (CAPES). We also thank CNPq for the grants PQ 308850/2015-7 to ÉF and PQ 303096/2019-5 to CL.
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CL, RM, GM, ÉF and RH conceived the research. JR, AC, FP, TS, JM, RM, GM, ÉF and CL designed the experiments. JR, AC and AS performed the experiments. JR, AC and JM assisted in the insect rearing and analysed the data. JR, AC, RH and CL wrote the paper. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
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Rodrigues, J., Catão, A.M.L., dos Santos, A.S. et al. Relative humidity impacts development and activity against Aedes aegypti adults by granular formulations of Metarhizium humberi microsclerotia. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 105, 2725–2736 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-021-11157-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-021-11157-6