Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Evaluation of Pathogenicity of the Fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana in Hazelnut Weevil (Curculio nucum L., Coleoptera, Curculionidae) Larvae

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Indian Journal of Microbiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The nut weevil (Curculio nucum) is one of the most important and widespread pests in hazelnut orchards. In order to screen entomopathogenic fungal strains with high virulence against C. nucum, the growth rate, sporulation, and cumulative mortality of different Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana strains were investigated, and the process by which M. anisopliae CoM 02 infects C. nucum larvae was observed using scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated that the growth rate and sporulation of different fungal strains significantly differed. Thirteen days after inoculation with M. anisopliae CoM 02, the cumulative mortality of C. nucum larvae reached 100 %, which was considerably higher than that of the other five strains. As the most virulent of the six test strains, the cadaver rate, LT50, and LT90 of M. anisopliae CoM 02 were 93.4 %, 7.05 and 11.90 days, respectively. Analysis of the infection process by scanning electron microscopy showed that the spore attachment, hyphal germination, hyphal rapid growth, and sporulation of M. anisopliae CoM 02 occurred on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 11th day after inoculation, respectively, indicating that the infection cycle takes approximately 11 days. This finding suggests that the highly virulent M. anisopliae plays an important role in the biocontrol of C. nucum in China.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Akça I, Tuncer C (2005) Biological control and morphological studies on nut weevil (curculio nucum l. col., curculionidae). Acta Hortic 686:413–420. doi:10.17660/ActaHortic.686.57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Saruhan I, Tuncer C, Mehlenbacher SA (2001) Population densities and seasonal fluctuations of hazelnut pests in Samsun, Turkey. Acta Hortic 556:495–502. doi:10.17660/ActaHortic.556.72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Wojciechowicz E (2005) Infestation of hazel nuts by hazelnut weevil (Curculio nucum L., coleoptera, curculionidae) in Poland. J Plant Prot Res 45:59–61

    Google Scholar 

  4. Batalla-Carrera L, Morton A, García-Del-Pino F (2013) Field efficacy against the hazelnut weevil, Curculio nucum and short-term persistence of entomopathogenic nematodes. Span J Agric Res 11:1112–1119. doi:10.5424/sjar/2013114-4210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Greenfield M, Gómez-Jiménez MI, Ortiz V, Vega FE, Kramer M, Parsa S (2016) Beauveria bassiana, and Metarhizium anisopliae, endophytically colonize cassava roots following soil drench inoculation. Biol Control 95:40–48. doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2016.01.002

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Maniania NK, Ekesi S, Songa JM (2002) Managing termites in maize with the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. Int J Trop Insect Sci 22:41–46. doi:10.1017/S1742758400015046

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Ekesi S, Maniania NK, Lwande W (2012) Susceptibility of the legume flower thrips to Metarhizium anisopliae on different varieties of cowpea. Biocontrol 45:79–95. doi:10.1023/A:1009927302916

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Ouedraogo RM, Cusson M, Goettel MS, Brodeur J (2003) Inhibition of fungal growth in thermoregulating locusts, Locusta migratoria, infected by the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae var acridum. J Invertebr Pathol 82:103–109. doi:10.1016/S0022-2011(02)00185-4

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. He XY, Cai SP, Tong YH, Xiong Y, Huang Y, Xie JD, Chen SL (2011) Pathogenicity evaluation of the entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae against adults of Basilepta melanopus (Coleoptera: Eumolpidae). Acta Entomol Sin 54:1281–1287. doi:10.16380/j.kcxb.2011.11.006

    Google Scholar 

  10. Zhou X, Wang DW, Guo K, Mao SF (2014) Germination and sporulation of Pandora delphacis (Entomophthoromycota: Entomophthorales) on the rice pest Nilaparvata lugens: SEM observation. Mycosystema 33:819–826. doi:10.13346/j.mycosystema.130088

    Google Scholar 

  11. Cui Q, Zhang Y, Zang Y, Nong X, Wang G, Zhang Z (2014) Screening of high toxic Metarhizium strain against Plutella xylostella and its marking with green fluorescent protein. World J Microb Biot 30:2767–2773. doi:10.1007/s11274-014-1700-6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Liu JF, Zhang HD, Cheng YQ, Wang J, Zhao YX, Geng WT (2014) Comparison of ultrastructure, pollen tube growth pattern and starch content in developing and abortive ovaries during the progamic phase in hazel. Front Plant Sci 5:528. doi:10.3389/fpls.2014.00528

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Cheng YQ, Wang J, Liu JF, Zhao YX, Geng WT, Zhang HD (2015) Analysis of ovary DNA methylation during delayed fertilization in hazel using the methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism technique. Acta Physiol Plant 37:231. doi:10.1007/s11738-015-1984-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Cheng YQ, Liu JF, Zhang HD, Wang J, Zhao YX, Geng WT (2015) Transcriptome analysis and gene expression profiling of abortive and developing ovules during fruit development in hazelnut. PLoS ONE 10:e0122072. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0122072

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Akça I, Tuncer C, Saruhan I (2007) Sex discrimination of adult Curculio nucum L. (coleoptera: curculionidae), a pest of hazelnuts in Turkey. Entomol News 118:87–89. doi:10.3157/0013-872X(2007)118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Zimmermann G (2017) Review on safety of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. Biocontrol Sci Tech 17:879–920. doi:10.1080/09583150701593963

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Wekesa VW, Maniania NK, Knapp M, Boga HI (2005) Pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae to the tobacco spider mite Tetranychus evansi. Exp Appl Acaro 36:41–50. doi:10.1007/s10493-005-0508-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Mosbach A, Leroch M, Mendgen KW, Hahn M (2011) Lack of evidence for a role of hydrophobins in conferring surface hydrophobicity to conidia and hyphae of Botrytis cinerea. BMC Microbiol 11:10. doi:10.1186/1471-2180-11-10

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Braun EJ, Howard RJ (1994) Adhesion of fungal spores and germlings to host plant surfaces. Protoplasma 181:202–212. doi:10.1007/978-3-7091-9378-5_11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Hajek AE, Eastburn CC (2003) Attachment and germination of Entomophaga maimaiga conidia on host and non-host larval cuticle. J Invertebr Pathol 82:12–22. doi:10.1016/S0022-2011(02)00198-2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Pires LM, Marques EJ, Valéria WT, Teixeira AAC, Alves LC, Alves ESB (2009) Ultrastructure of Tuta absoluta parasitized eggs and the reproductive potential of females after parasitism by Metarhizium anisopliae. Micron 40:255–261. doi:10.1016/j.micron.2008.07.008

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Vestergaard S, Gillespie AT, Butt TM, Schreiter G, Eilenberg J (1995) Pathogenicity of the hyphomycete fungi Verticillium lecanii and Metarhizium anisopliae to the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis. Biocontrol Sci Techn 5:185–192. doi:10.1080/09583159550039909

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the following grant: International Advanced Agricultural Science and Technology Plan (2015-4-23), State Forestry Bureau of China.

Author’s Contribution

Cheng Y. Q. and Liu J. F. conceived the study and designed the experiments. Chen L. T. provided intellectual advice on the project and experimental design. Liu T., Zhao Y. X. and Geng W. T. performed SEM and pathogencity experiments. Cheng Y. Q. and Liu J. F. wrote the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Science and Green Production, Jilin Normal University, Siping, 136000, Jilin Province, China

    Yunqing Cheng, Ting Liu, Yixin Zhao, Wanting Geng, Longtao Chen & Jianfeng Liu

Authors
  1. Yunqing Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ting Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yixin Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Wanting Geng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Longtao Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jianfeng Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jianfeng Liu.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 48 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cheng, Y., Liu, T., Zhao, Y. et al. Evaluation of Pathogenicity of the Fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana in Hazelnut Weevil (Curculio nucum L., Coleoptera, Curculionidae) Larvae. Indian J Microbiol 56, 405–410 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-016-0614-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-016-0614-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation