Entomopathogenic Fungi for Tick Control in Cattle Livestock From Mexico

Abstract

Ticks are one of the main economic threats to the cattle industry worldwide affecting productivity, health and welfare. The need for alternative methods to control tick populations is prompted by the high prevalence of multiresistant tick strains to the main chemical acaricides and their ecological consequences. Biological control using entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) is one of the most promising alternative options. The objective of this paper is to review the use of EPF as an alternative control method against cattle ticks in Mexico. Metarhizium anisopliae sensu lato (s.l.) and Beauveria bassiana s.l. are the most studied EPF for the biological control of ticks in the laboratory and in the field, mainly against Rhipicephalus microplus; however, evaluations against other important cattle ticks such as Amblyomma mixtum and R. annulatus, are needed. A transdisciplinary approach is required to incorporate different types of tools, such as genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics in order to better understand the pathogenicity/virulence mechanism in EPF against ticks. Laboratory tests have demonstrated the EPF efficacy to control susceptible and resistant/multiresistant tick populations; whereas, field tests have shown satisfactory control efficiency of M. anisopliae s.l. against different stages of R. microplus when applied both on pasture and on cattle. Epidemiological aspects of ticks and environmental factors are considered as components that influence the acaricidal behavior of the EPF. Finally, considering all these aspects, some recommendations are proposed for the use of EPF in integrated control schemes for livestock ticks.

A Review of Commercial Metarhizium- and Beauveria-Based Biopesticides for the Biological Control of Ticks in the USA

“…It is likely that ticks will shift their ranges as the climate changes, continuing to impact the health of humans, domestic animals, and wildlife [ 5 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 ]. Under certain conditions, which generally remain unclear across tick habitats, the use of fungal biopesticides when used in combination with other reduction strategies might achieve results comparable to those achieved synthetic and natural-product-based acaricides if products were consistently available.…”

“…Broadcast applications of acaricides (synthetic, natural-product, or biologically based) is the primary strategy used to reduce the abundance of host-seeking ticks [ 4 ]. Synthetic chemical acaricides are the most commonly used, and will continue to be until alternatives with comparable efficacy are found that combat acaricide resistance, particularly in Rhipicephalus spp., satisfy consumer interest in ecologically based products, and reduce nontarget effects on other organisms like pollinators [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”

Entomopathogenic fungi (Aspergillus oryzae) as biological control agent of cattle ticks in Tanzania

“…In both cases, Rhipicephalus responded the least. This could be due to a low chitin composition of Boophilus cuticle thereby influencing the penetration of the fungi (Flynn and Kaufman, 2015;Hackman, 1975;Hackman and Goldberg, 1987), since the mode of action was through penetration of the fungus on the cuticle of the tick and infection due to symbiotic relationship of A. oryzae with the host causing it's death like for other entomopathogenic fungi (Alonso-Díaz and Fernández-Salas, 2021;Fernandes et al, 2012;Fernandes and Bittencourt, 2008;Jiang et al, 2020;Perinotto et al, 2012;Zekeya et al, 2020).…”

“…Entomopathogenic fungi have been reported to be effective against ticks and appeared to be more promising than other potential biological control agents (Stafford and Allan, 2014). Entomopathogenic fungi can infect ticks, through fungal conidia attached to that penetrate into the tick cuticle leading to death (Alonso-Díaz and Fernández-Salas, 2021;Fernandes et al, 2012;Ghany, 2015;Jiang et al, 2020;Perinotto et al, 2012). For instance, fungi belonging to the species Beauvena bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae are the most used entomopathogenic fungi for the biological control of ticks (Bittencourt, 2008;Fernandes et al, 2012;Ghany, 2015;Kaaya and Hassan, 2000;Kalsbeek et al, 1995;Perinotto et al, 2012).…”

Spatio-Temporal Profiling of Metarhizium anisopliae—Responsive microRNAs Involved in Modulation of Plutella xylostella Immunity and Development

“…Scientists have explored entomopathogenic fungi due to their ability to control susceptible, resistant, and multi-resistant arthropod populations [6,7]. These microbial insecticides attach to the host cuticle, germinate and penetrate hemolymph, leading to fungal growth inside the host, eventually producing and dispersing secondary infectious conidia [8].…”