Fungal Diversity Associated to the Olive Moth, Prays Oleae Bernard: A Survey for Potential Entomopathogenic Fungi

Abstract

Olive production is one of the main agricultural activities in Portugal. In the region of Trás-os-Montes, this crop has been considerably affected by Prays oleae. In order to evaluate the diversity of fungi on Prays oleae population of Trás-os-Montes olive orchards, larvae and pupae of the three annual generations (phyllophagous, antophagous and carpophagous) were collected and evaluated for fungal growth on their surface. From the 3,828 larvae and pupae, a high percentage of individuals exhibited growth of a fungal agent (40.6%), particularly those from the phyllophagous generation. From all the moth generations, a total of 43 species from 24 genera were identified, but the diversity and abundance of fungal species differed between the three generations. Higher diversity was found in the carpophagous generation, followed by the antophagous and phyllophagous generations. The presence of fungi displaying entomopathogenic features was highest in the phyllophagous larvae and pupae, with Beauveria bassiana as the most abundant taxa. The first report of Beauveria bassiana presence on Prays oleae could open new strategies for the biocontrol of this major pest in olive groves since the use of an already adapted species increases the guarantee of success of a biocontrol approach. The identification of antagonistic fungi able to control agents that cause major olive diseases, such as Verticillium dahliae, will benefit future biological control approaches for limiting this increasingly spreading pathogen.

Entomopathogenic fungi in Portuguese vineyards soils: suggesting a ‘Galleria-Tenebrio-bait method’ as bait-insects Galleria and Tenebrio significantly underestimate the respective recoveries of Metarhizium (robertsii) and Beauveria (bassiana)

“…Different studies suggest that Metarhizium spp. are either absent (Ali-Shtayeh et al 2003, Oliveira et al 2012 or less prevalent in the Mediterranean region (Tarasco et al 1997, Asensio et al 2003, Quesada-Moraga et al 2007, Garrido-Jurado et al 2015. Surprisingly, Garrido-Jurado et al (2015) reported just four isolates of M. robertsii from 270 soil samples in Spain which was quite a small number compared with the 11 isolates from 183 soil samples found in the present study.…”

Fungal community in olive fruits of cultivars with different susceptibilities to anthracnose and selection of isolates to be used as biocontrol agents

“…Total genomic DNA was extracted from mycelial/spores using the REDExtract-N-Amp™ Plant PCR kit (Sigma, Poole, UK). The ITS region (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2) was amplified using the universal ITS1 and ITS4 primers in a PCR protocol formerly described by Oliveira et al (2012). The amplified products (∼650 bp) were purified and sequenced using Macrogen Inc. (Seoul, South Korea) services, using the same primers to initiate the reaction.…”

Impact of a natural soil salinity gradient on fungal endophytes in wild barley (Hordeum maritimum With.)

“…The ITS region (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2) was amplified using the universal ITS1 and ITS4 primers (White et al 1990) and the PCR protocol described by Oliveira et al (2012). Amplified products (*600 pb) were purified using JETQUICK PCR Product Purification Spin Kit (Genomed) following the manufactureŕs instructions.…”

“…Genomic DNA was extract from spores or mycelial mat following the protocol of Oliveira et al (2012). The ITS region (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2) was amplified using the universal ITS1 and ITS4 primers (White et al 1990) and the PCR protocol described by Oliveira et al (2012).…”