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Isolation and characterization of entomopathogenic fungi from hazelnut-growing region of Turkey

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Abstract

Although Turkey is the first among all hazelnut-producing countries, yield per unit area of this crop is low in comparison to other countries, mainly because many insect species seriously damage hazelnut trees and their fruit. To find effective and safe biocontrol agents, we conducted a survey study to isolate entomopathogenic fungi from the hazelnut-growing region of Turkey and characterized the isolated strains in detail. In addition, we determined the effectiveness of seven selected strains from this region against Melolontha melolontha (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) which is one of the most serious pests of hazelnut. In 2006 and 2007, 301 soil samples were collected randomly and analyzed for presence of entomopathogenic fungi using the Galleria bait method. Entomopathogenic fungi were found to occur in 20.59% of the soil samples studied. Based on morphology, ITS sequence and partial sequencing of the 18S (SSU rDNA) and EF1-α genes, the isolates were identified as Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae, Metarhizium sp., Beauveria bassiana, Beauveria cf. bassiana, Isaria fumosorosea and Evlachovaea sp. Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae was isolated from 34 sites and was the most frequent and abundant entomopathogenic species recovered. All the isolates tested were pathogenic to M. melolontha. M. anisopliae var. anisopliae KTU-27 and Evlachovaea sp. KTU-36 produced the highest insecticidal activity (86.6%) within 15 days after inoculation. Our results suggest that entomopathogenic fungi could be good biocontrol agents against M. melolontha, and are discussed with respect to ecology of fungi in relation to habitat in order to evaluate biocontrol potential of these isolates. This is the first study of the distribution of entomopathogenic fungi in the hazelnut-growing region of Turkey and of their pathogenicities against M. melolontha.

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Abbreviations

18S (SSU rDNA):

18S small-subunit ribosomal DNA

ARSEF:

USDA-ARS collection of entomopathogenic fungal cultures

bp:

Base pair

Bt:

Bacillus thuringiensis

CBC:

Conservation biological control

DNA:

Deoxyribonucleic acid

dNTP:

Deoxyribonucleotide triphosphate

EF1-α:

Elongation factor 1-alpha

GBM:

Galleria bait method

ha:

Hectare

ITS1-5.8S-ITS2:

Internal transcribed spacer1-5.8S-internal transcribed spacer2

L/W:

Length/width

min:

Minute

NCBI:

The National Center for Biotechnology Information

NY:

New York

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

PDB:

Potato dextrose broth

SDAY:

Sabouraud dextrose agar medium with 1% yeast extract

USA:

The United States of America

USDA-ARS:

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service

UV:

Ultraviolet

VIB:

The Flanders Institute for Biotechnology

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Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Dr. Ayhan Gökçe for his kind help with the morphological characterizations of these fungi.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080, Trabzon, Turkey

    Ali Sevim, Ismail Demir & Zihni Demirbag

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Rize University, Rize, Turkey

    Ali Sevim

  3. Department of Crop Protection, Laboratory of Phytopathology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Ali Sevim & Monica Höfte

  4. Biological Integrated Pest Management Research Unit, Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, Tower Road, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Richard A. Humber

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  1. Ali Sevim
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  2. Ismail Demir
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  3. Monica Höfte
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  4. Richard A. Humber
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  5. Zihni Demirbag
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Correspondence to Zihni Demirbag.

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Handling Editor: Helen Roy

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Sevim, A., Demir, I., Höfte, M. et al. Isolation and characterization of entomopathogenic fungi from hazelnut-growing region of Turkey. BioControl 55, 279–297 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-009-9235-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-009-9235-8

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