Abstract
BackgroundGenetically enhanced Metarhizium pingshaense are being developed for malaria vector control in Burkina Faso. However, not much is known about the local prevalence and pathogenicity of this fungus, so we prospected mosquitoes and plant roots (a common habitat for Metarhizium spp.) for entomopathogenic fungi.ResultsOur investigations showed that Metarhizium spp. represented between 29–74% of fungi isolated from plant root rhizospheres in diverse collection sites. At low spore dosages (1 × 106 conidia/ml), two mosquito-derived M. pingshaense isolates (Met_S26 and Met_S10) showed greater virulence against Anopheles coluzzii (LT80 of ~7 days) than isolates tested in previous studies (LT80 of ~10 days). In addition, the local isolates did not cause disease in non-target insects (honeybees and cockroaches).ConclusionsOur work provides promising findings for isolating local Metarhizium strains for application in mosquito biological control and for future transgenic biocontrol strategies in Burkina Faso.
Highlights
Enhanced Metarhizium pingshaense are being developed for malaria vector control in Burkina Faso
Soumousso is a savanna and corn crop area, and the higher proportion of Metarhizium fungi is consistent with previous studies that reported a strong association between Metarhizium spp. and soils from cultivated habitats, field crops [13,14,15]
Isolates of Metarhizium spp. represented ~1%
Summary
Enhanced Metarhizium pingshaense are being developed for malaria vector control in Burkina Faso. Not much is known about the local prevalence and pathogenicity of this fungus, so we prospected mosquitoes and plant roots (a common habitat for Metarhizium spp.) for entomopathogenic fungi. Despite intensive efforts to develop entomopathogenic fungi as biocontrol agents against malaria vectors, the strains under investigation have not met expectations due to their poorer efficacy relative to cheaper chemical insecticides [2]. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) ARSEF collection (the world’s largest collection of entomopathogenic fungi) has more than 12,000 isolates of insect pathogenic fungi. The second objective was to evaluate the pathogenicity of local Metarhizium isolates against wild-caught, insecticideresistant Anopheles coluzzii. We assessed the pathogenicity of the local isolates against American cockroaches and honeybees as representative non-target or beneficial species
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