Abstract
Elasmopalpus lignosellus (Zeller, 1848) (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) is an insect pest of 60 economically important crops, including sugarcane, wheat, soybean, rice, beans, sorghum, peanuts, and cotton. The aim of this work was to select and characterize Bacillus thuringiensis isolates with insecticidal activity against E. Lignosellus that could be used as an alternative method of control. Selective bioassays were done to evaluate the toxicity of 47 isolates against first instar larvae of E. lignosellus. For the most toxic bacterial strains, the lethal concentration (LC 50 ) was estimated and morphological, biochemical and molecular methods were used to characterize the isolates. Among the 47 isolates tested, 12 caused mortality above 85% and showed LC 50 values from 0.038E+8 to 0.855E+8 spores mL -1 . Isolates BR83, BR145, BR09, BR78, S1534, and S1302 had the lowest LC 50 values and did not differ from the standard HD-1 strain; the exception was BR83.The protein profiles produced bands with molecular masses of 60-130 kDa. The genes cry1, cry2, cry3, and cry11 were identified in the molecular characterization. The morphological analysis identified three different crystal inclusions: bipyramidal, spherical and cuboidal. Among the tested isolates, 12 isolates have potential for biotechnological control of E. Lignosellus by development of new biopesticides or genetically modified plants.
Highlights
The lesser cornstalk borer Elasmopalpus lignosellus (Zeller, 1848) (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) is a polyphagous pest, and larvae feed on more than 60 species of cultivated plants (Viana, 2004)
The aim of this work was to select and characterize native isolates of B. thuringiensis toxic to E. lignosellus, with the goal to conduct further studies focused on new formulations of bioinsecticides and development of genetically modified plants
The HD-1 strain of B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki was obtained from the Collection of B. thuringiensis at the Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
Summary
The lesser cornstalk borer Elasmopalpus lignosellus (Zeller, 1848) (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) is a polyphagous pest, and larvae feed on more than 60 species of cultivated plants (Viana, 2004). These plants include crops of high economic value, such as corn, beans, wheat, soy, peanuts, and sugarcane, which suffer extensive losses by attack from this pest. The lesser cornstalk borer is a difficult pest to control because it can remain close to the plant stem, within the stem, or in silken web habitats and land shelters they build on the soil surface. Preventive chemical control and seed treatment remain the most widely used methods to control E. lignosellus. When chemicals are indiscriminately applied, human contamination and environmental imbalance can result, leading to an increase in the pest population
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