Metarhizium acridum
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Metarhizium acridum
| Metarhizium acridum | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Locust killed by M. acridum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Subkingdom: | Dikarya |
| Phylum: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Sordariomycetes |
| Order: | Hypocreales |
| Family: | Clavicipitaceae |
| Genus: | Metarhizium |
| Species: | M. acridum |
| Binomial name | |
| Metarhizium acridum (Driver & Milner) J.F. Bisch., Rehner & Humber (2009) |
|
Metarhizium acridum[1] is the new name given to a group of fungal isolates that are known to be virulent and specific to Acrididea. Previously, this species has had variety status in Metarhizium anisopliae (var. acridum[2]) and before that, reference was made to M. flavoviride.[3]
|
Contents
|
Biology
M. acridum almost exclusively infects grasshoppers in the suborder Caelifera of the Orthoptera. Various research groups, including the international LUBILOSA Programme [1] (which developed the product 'Green Muscle') have identified and addressed key technical challenges for exploitation of microbial control agents including: isolate selection, mass production and delivery systems (formulation and application).[4] In other words, insect control (mortality) depends on factors like the number of spores applied against the insect host, the formulation[5] and weather conditions.[6] Oil-based formulations allow the application of fungal spores under dry conditions, and are compatible with existing Ultra-Low Volume (ULV) application techniques for locust control.
The M. acridum only targets and affects grasshoppers and locust. Researchers wanted to know why this parasite was so specific with its target. Researchers believe that this has to do with the Mest1 gene which is not present in M. acridum. A study done by researchers out of China tested the function of this gene. By taking a strain of M.robertsii which has a non-functioning Mest1 gene, researchers found that the mutant was only able to infect grasshoppers and locusts which is consistent with M.acridum. This Mest1 gene is what allows the initiation of the infection process on the specific targets. This expression of this Mest1 gene in the parasite M.acridum is triggered by substances that are only found on the waxy coat of the grasshoppers, which explains why this parasite specifically only targets grasshoppers and locusts. [7]
M. acridum is currently under consideration by the USDA for release in the Western U.S. for control of native grasshoppers and crickets.[8]
Important Isolates
- IMI 330189 (= ARSEF 7486) is the ex-type of the species, originally collected from Niger: the active ingredient of 'Green Muscle'
- CSIRO FI 485 (= ARSEF 324) is an Australian isolate: the active ingredient of 'Green Guard'.
References
- ^ Bischoff J.F., Rehner S.A. and Humber R.A. (2009). "A multilocus phylogeny of the Metarhizium anisopliae lineage". Mycologia 101 (4): 512–530. doi:10.3852/07-202. PMID 19623931.
- ^ Driver, F., Milner, R.J. and Trueman, W.H.A. (2000). "A Taxonomic revision of Metarhizium based on sequence analysis of ribosomal DNA". Mycological Research 104 (2): 135–151. doi:10.1017/S0953756299001756.
- ^ Bateman, R.P., Carey, M., Batt, D., Prior, C., Abraham, Y., Moore, D., Jenkins, N., Fenlon J. (1996). "Screening for virulent isolates of entomopathogenic fungi against the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål)". Biocontrol Science and Technology 6 (4): 549–560. doi:10.1080/09583159631181.
- ^ Lomer, C.J., Bateman, R.P., Johnson, D.L., Langewald, J. and Thomas, M. (2001). "Biological Control of Locusts and Grasshoppers". Annual Review of Entomology 46: 667–702. doi:10.1146/annurev.ento.46.1.667. PMID 11112183.
- ^ Burges, H.D. (ed.) (1998). Formulation of microbial biopesticides, beneficial microorganisms, nematodes and seed treatments. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic. p. 412 pp.. ISBN 0-412-62520-2.
- ^ Thomas, M.H. and Blanford, S. (2003). "Thermal biology in insect-parasite interactions". Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18 (7): 344–350. doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(03)00069-7.
- ^ "Wang S, Fang W, Wang C, St. Leger RJ, 2011" Insertion of an Esterase Gene into a Specific Locust Pathogen (Metarhizium acridum) Enables It to Infect Caterpillars. PLoS Pathog 7(6): e1002097. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1002097 http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1002097
- ^ "Rangeland Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Program". USDA-APHIS. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JtCUuMiRUg8J:www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/grasshopper/index.shtml+http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/grasshopper/index.shtml&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
See also
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
Wikipedia on Answers.com
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Metarhizium acridum.
Read more