Abstract
The effectiveness of Metarhizium anisopliae IP 46 conidia mixed with soil was tested against Aedes aegypti eggs. Mycelium and new conidia developed first on eggs between 4.8 and 15 days respectively after incubation of fungus-treated soils at 3.3 × 103 up to 3.3 × 105 conidia/g soil at 25°C and relative humidities close to saturation. After 15-day incubation, 53.3% of the eggs exposed to soil with 3.3 × 105 conidia/g showed external development of mycelium and conidia. Fungus-inoculated soils (but not untreated controls) showed some mycelial growth and sporulation apart from the eggs. Some eggs on treated soils hatched; those larvae died and eventually showed fungal development on their bodies. The cumulative relative eclosion of larvae after submersion of treated eggs in water decreased from 52.2% at 3.3 × 103 conidia/g to 25.3% at 3.3 × 105 conidia/g. These findings clearly showed that A. aegypti eggs can be infected by M. anisopliae when deposited on fungus-contaminated soil. The effectiveness of M. anisopliae against gravid females, larvae, and also eggs of A. aegypti underscored the possible usefulness of this fungus as a mycoinsecticide, whether naturally occurring or artificially applied, in the breeding sites of this mosquito.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Heloisa and Ionizete G. Silva (IPTSP) for providing A. aegypti eggs and Richard A Humber (USDA-ARS, Ithaca, NY, USA) for the critical review of the manuscript. The work was funded by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás (FAPEG).
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Leles, R.N., D’Alessandro, W.B. & Luz, C. Effects of Metarhizium anisopliae conidia mixed with soil against the eggs of Aedes aegypti . Parasitol Res 110, 1579–1582 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2666-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2666-z