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Applied Sciences
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Entomopathogenic Microorganisms: A Viable Tool for Controlling Serious Pests
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Entomopathogenic Microorganisms: A Viable Tool for Controlling Serious Pests

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2022) | Viewed by 10194

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Spiridon Mantzoukas

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Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, 471 00 Arta, Greece
Interests: biological control; entomology; entomopathogenic fungi
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Panagiotis A. Eliopoulos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, University of Thessaly, 41110 Larissa, Greece
Interests: biological control of crop pests; IPM methods; insect–plant interactions; stored product pests; precision agriculture methods in crop protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Entomopathogens are microorganisms that are pathogenic to arthropods such as insects, mites, and ticks. Several species differ significantly in their biology and behavior, and hence in their ability to control the population of enemies in each environment. The proper use of entomopathogens requires a good knowledge of the biological cycle of enemies. Entomopathogens such as bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and viruses infect a variety of arthropod pests and play an important role in their management. The pathogenicity caused by the entomopathogens is not the same in all insects, and differs even at each stage of the insect. It is usually larger in the young stages of the insect, especially in the larval stage. The point of entry or growth of a pathogen varies depending on the insect and the entomopathogen. The entomopathogens (usually viruses and bacteria) enter via the oral route, while fungi can invade their host from the insect cuticle. Some entomopathogens are mass-produced in vitro (bacteria, fungi) or in vivo (viruses) and sold commercially. In this Special Issue, we welcome original research as well as review articles.

Dr. Spiridon Mantzoukas
Prof. Dr. Panagiotis A. Eliopoulos
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1299 KiB  
Article
Could Gnomoniopsis castaneae Be Used as a Biological Control Agent against Insect Pests?
by Spiridon Mantzoukas, Ioannis Lagogiannis, Aristeidis Ntoukas, George T. Tziros, Konstantinos Poulas, Panagiotis A. Eliopoulos and Dimitrios Ν. Avtzis
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 4066; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11094066 - 29 Apr 2021
Viewed by 1437
Abstract
Gnomoniopsis castaneae is the cause of the chestnut brown rot but has been also regarded as an important mortality factor for the chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus. The question to whether G. castaneae could serve as a natural biocontrol agent against insect [...] Read more.
Gnomoniopsis castaneae is the cause of the chestnut brown rot but has been also regarded as an important mortality factor for the chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus. The question to whether G. castaneae could serve as a natural biocontrol agent against insect pests is investigated in the present study. We used three serious insect pests as experimental model insects: Plodia interpuctella and Trogoderma granarium, which are important pests of stored products, and Myzus persicae, a cosmopolitan, serious pest of annual and perennial crop plants. Although chemical pesticides represent effective control means, they are also related to several environmental and health risks. In search for alternative pest management methods, scientific interest has been focused, inter alia, on the use of entomopathogenic fungi. While Isaria fumosorosea has long been recognized as an effective control agent against several pests, G.castaneae has been very little studied. The present study examined whether and to what extent G. castaneae and I. fumosorosea exhibit insecticidal activity against fourth-instar larvae of P. interpunctella and T. granarium and adults of M. persicae. Mortality was examined in interrelation with dosage and time exposure intervals. Both fungi exhibited pesticidal action. However, G. castaneae induced noteworthy mortality only at very high doses. In general, we concluded that G. castaneae failed to cause high insect pathogenicity at normal doses and may not be an efficient biocontrol agent compared with other entomopathogens. On the other hand, our study reiterates the pathogenic potential of I. fumosorosea. More studies are needed to further our insight into the potential of EF species as a component of IPM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entomopathogenic Microorganisms: A Viable Tool for Controlling Serious Pests)
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15 pages, 2041 KiB  
Article
Effect of Beauveria bassiana-Seed Treatment on Zea mays L. Response against Spodoptera frugiperda
by Laiju Kuzhuppillymyal-Prabhakarankutty, Fernando H. Ferrara-Rivero, Patricia Tamez-Guerra, Ricardo Gomez-Flores, María Cristina Rodríguez-Padilla and María Julissa Ek-Ramos
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 2887; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11072887 - 24 Mar 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2914
Abstract
Spodoptera frugiperda is a widely distributed insect pest that causes major economic losses in various crops, particularly maize. On the other hand, Beauveria bassiana is an entomopathogenic fungus that establishes symbiotic associations with many plants and contributes to tolerance against biotic and abiotic [...] Read more.
Spodoptera frugiperda is a widely distributed insect pest that causes major economic losses in various crops, particularly maize. On the other hand, Beauveria bassiana is an entomopathogenic fungus that establishes symbiotic associations with many plants and contributes to tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present work, in laboratory experiments, the effects of the B. bassiana strain GHA, in addition to a native strain (PTG4), delivered via seed treatment in maize seedlings, were evaluated on S. frugiperda growth, development, and mortality. We inoculated maize seeds with 1 × 106B. bassiana blastospores; then these seeds were germinated and grown to seedlings under growth chamber conditions. Third-instar S. frugiperda larvae were allowed to feed on B. bassiana-treated and -untreated (negative control) seedlings until reaching the sixth instar and transferred to an artificial diet until reaching adult stage. Results showed that larvae feeding on B. bassiana strain PTG4-treated plants prolonged their larval stage. Furthermore, feeding on plants treated with B. bassiana strains yielded fewer S. frugiperda male moths compared with feeding with the untreated control plants. Under field conditions, 1 × 106 (first trial) and 1 × 108 (second trial) of B. bassiana (GHA strain) blastospores were used for corn seed inoculation. In the first field trial, there were a higher number of larvae in the negative control plants compared to those in the plants treated with B. bassiana. No larvae were found in negative control and B. bassiana-treated plants in the second field trial. In conclusion, seed treatment with B. bassiana in maize reduced S. frugiperda infestation of maize plants in field trials. S. frugiperda development was also affected in laboratory trials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entomopathogenic Microorganisms: A Viable Tool for Controlling Serious Pests)
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10 pages, 921 KiB  
Article
Trapping Entomopathogenic Fungi from Vine Terroir Soil Samples with Insect Baits for Controlling Serious Pests
by Spiridon Mantzoukas, Ioannis Lagogiannis, Aristeidis Ntoukas, Panagiotis A. Eliopoulos, Demetrios Kouretas, Dimitrios G. Karpouzas and Konstantinos Poulas
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(10), 3539; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10103539 - 20 May 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2742
Abstract
Fungi are eukaryotic microorganisms with many forms and certain demands about the soil they colonize, which reveal the conditions that prevail therein. Although they can often kill pests without damaging plants or humans, they are not widely used as pesticides as they are [...] Read more.
Fungi are eukaryotic microorganisms with many forms and certain demands about the soil they colonize, which reveal the conditions that prevail therein. Although they can often kill pests without damaging plants or humans, they are not widely used as pesticides as they are not easy to handle and require much time before they act. Nevertheless, insects can be used as baits to trap these entomopathogenic fungi, giving information about their distribution within the terroir. The purpose of this study was to investigate the soil distribution of entomopathogenic fungi species in soil samples from two vine soil terroirs. Nine fungi were identified in total, but M. anisopliae and B. bassiana showed the greatest frequency, which was expressed by difference in adult bait mortality among species. These fungi had not been previously documented in vine terroirs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entomopathogenic Microorganisms: A Viable Tool for Controlling Serious Pests)
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11 pages, 951 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Grain Type on Virulence of Entomopathogenic Fungi Against Stored Product Pests
by Spiridon Mantzoukas, Ioannis Lagogiannis, Katerina Karmakolia, Anastasia Rodi, Maria Gazepi and Panagiotis A. Eliopoulos
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(8), 2970; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10082970 - 24 Apr 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2395
Abstract
Fungal virulence is multifaceted and dependent on multiple abiotic factors. The present study represents an investigation of the effect of one such abiotic factor, that of the grain type, on the insecticidal action of three entomopathogenic fungal species, Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Hypocreales: [...] Read more.
Fungal virulence is multifaceted and dependent on multiple abiotic factors. The present study represents an investigation of the effect of one such abiotic factor, that of the grain type, on the insecticidal action of three entomopathogenic fungal species, Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae), Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschinkoff) Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) and Isaria fumosorosea Wize (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) on larvae of the three very common and destructive stored product pests: the khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium Everts) (Coleoptera: Dermestidae), the confused flour beetle (Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and the Mediterranean flour moth (Ephestia kuehniella Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). To this end, we selected four different grains, i.e., Triticum aestivum L. (Poales: Poaceae), Oryza sativa L. (Poales: Poaceae), Arachis hypogaea L. (Fabales: Fabaceae) and Vicia faba L. (Fabales: Fabaceae). Bioassays were carried out in the lab, where experimental grains were sprayed with 1 mL of conidial suspension (108 conidia/mL) from each isolate. Mean mortality, median survival time and weight loss of seeds were estimated for each species. Our results suggest that the differences in the efficacy of entomopathogenic fungi were dependent both on the isolates and the grain. The grain type as a factor is equally important to other abiotic factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entomopathogenic Microorganisms: A Viable Tool for Controlling Serious Pests)
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