Biological control of sheep nematode Haemonchus contortus using edible mushrooms

Abstract

This study evaluated in vitro the morphology of ten strains of edible mushroom: Pleurotus ostreatus (strains 1123 and 0152), P. eryngii (strains 1290 and 1291), P. cornucopiae (strains 1328 and 1330), Coprinus comatus (strain 1103), Panus sp. (strain 801), Lentinula edodes (strain 401) and L. boryanus (strain 402) on different growing media. In addition, the in vitro anthelmintic activity (AH) of the mycelium of the fungi against Haemonchus contortus infective larvae was evaluated in Petri dishes. Finally, organic extracts of six of the fungi were synthesized and evaluated against H. contortus larvae. The highest mycelial growth rate was achieved by P. ostreatus (0152), Panus sp. (801), and P. ostreatus (1123) in wheat flour with agar (HIT). The highest biomass (1.43 g/Petri dish) was produced by Panus sp. 801 in the HIT medium. The highest percentages of mycelial AH mortality were caused by P. ostreatus 0152, P. cornucopiae 1328, P. ostreatus 1123, P. eryngii 1292 and L. edodes 401, at 88, 88.5, 91, 93 and 93.93% respectively. The biological activity of the fungi could be due to toxins, which inhibit the movement of nematodes and subsequently degrade them. The extracts that caused the highest mortality rates were: P. ostreatus 0152 (81.6%) and P. eryngii 1292 (90.8%) at 72 h following exposure to 200 mg/mL of extract. The results of the present study show that these fungi are candidates for future in vivo tests against H. contortus.