The distribution of covert microbial natural enemies of a globally invasive crop pest, fall armyworm, in Africa: Enemy release and spillover events

Withers, Amy; Rice, Annabel; Boer, Jolanda de; Donkersley, Philip; Pearson, Aislinn J.; Chipabika, Gilson; Karangwa, Patrick; Uzayisenga, Bellancile; Mensah, Benjamin Adjei; Mensah, Samuel Adjei; Nkunika, Phillip O. Y.; Kachigamba, Donald L.; Smith, Judith A.; Jones, Christopher M.; Wilson, Kenneth

doi:10.1111/1365-2656.13760

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…Therefore, the strong prevalence of M. rileyi in regions that are affected by S. frugiperda is likely one of the main reasons for its high prevalence in the wild. Notably, as previously reported, M. rileyi dominated strains collected from corn plantations rather than M. roberts or B. bassiana [53], possibly because M. rileyi itself also has some potential properties superior to other ento-mopathogenic fungi in the field. Alternatively, S. frugiperda may somehow promote the popularity of M. rileyi.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

“…For example, Isaria javanica (Bally) Samson & Hywel-Jones and I. fumosorosea Wize are common fungi that are widely used for aphid and whitefly control and other fungal insecticides, making them readily isolated from these hosts [ 51 , 52 ]. In addition, the prevalence, distribution, and fungal infection of insect fungal pathogens are affected by weather parameters, such as temperature, rainfall, and humidity [ 53 ]. In our study, the dipping method was used to determine the virulence of fungi with 1 × 10 7 /mL conidia against insect larvae.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic Diversity and Virulence Variation of Metarhizium rileyi from Infected Spodoptera frugiperda in Corn Fields

Peng,

Yao,

Pang

et al. 2024

Microorganisms

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Metarhizium rileyi is an entomopathogenic fungus that naturally infects the larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda, and has biocontrol potential. To explore more natural entomopathogenic fungi resources, a total of 31 strains were isolated from 13 prefectures in Yunnan Province. All the strains were identified using morphology and molecular biology. The genetic diversity of the 31 isolates of M. rileyi was analyzed using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) techniques. Seven primers with good polymorphism were selected, and fifty-four distinct amplification sites were obtained by polymerase chain reaction amplification. Among them, 50 were polymorphic sites, and the percentage of polymorphic sites was 94.44%. The thirty-one strains were divided into eight subpopulations according to the regions. The Nei’s gene diversity was 0.2945, and the Shannon information index was 0.4574, indicating that M. rileyi had rich genetic diversity. The average total genetic diversity of the subpopulations in the different regions was 0.2962, the gene diversity within the populations was 0.1931, the genetic differentiation coefficient was 0.3482 (>0.25), and the gene flow was 0.9360 (<1). The individual cluster analysis showed that there was no obvious correlation between the genetic diversity of the strains and their geographical origin, which also indicated that the virulence of the strains was not related to their phylogeny. Thus, the genetic distance of the different populations of M. rileyi in Yunnan Province was not related to the geographical distance. The virulence of those 32 strains against the 3rd-instar larvae of S. frugiperda were varied with the differences in geographical locations. On the 10th day of inoculation, seventeen strains had an insect mortality rate of 70.0%, and seven strains had an insect mortality rate of 100%. The half-lethal times of the M. rileyi SZCY201010, XSBN200920, and MDXZ200803 strains against the S. frugiperda larvae were less than 4 d. Thus, they have the potential to be developed into fungal insecticidal agents.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Diversity and Virulence Variation of Metarhizium rileyi from Infected Spodoptera frugiperda in Corn Fields

Peng,

Yao,

Pang

et al. 2024

Microorganisms

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“…In recent years, extensive research has been conducted on the biology, insecticide resistance and management of FAW populations (Gichuhi et al, 2020; Jiang et al, 2021; Shan et al, 2022; Withers et al, 2022). However, our knowledge of the mechanisms underpinning the rapid spread of FAW in the Eastern hemisphere is still limited.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global genomic signature reveals the evolution of fall armyworm in the Eastern hemisphere

Zhang,

Li,

Peng

et al. 2023

Molecular Ecology

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The major plant pest fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is native to the Americas and has colonized Africa and Asia within the Eastern hemisphere since 2016, causing severe damage to multiple agricultural crop species. However, the genetic origin of these invasive populations requires more in‐depth exploration. We analysed genetic variation across the genomes of 280 FAW individuals from both the Eastern hemisphere and the Americas. The global range‐wide genetic structure of FAW shows that the FAW in America has experienced deep differentiation, largely consistent with the Z‐chromosomal Tpi haplotypes commonly used to differentiate ‘corn‐strain’ and ‘rice‐strain’ populations. The invasive populations from Africa and Asia are different from the American ones and have a relatively homogeneous population structure, consistent with the common origin and recent spreading from Africa to Asia. Our analyses suggest that north‐ and central American ‘corn‐strain’ FAW are the most likely sources of the invasion into the Eastern hemisphere. Furthermore, evidence based on genomic, transcriptomic and mitochondrial haplotype network analyses indicates an earlier, independent introduction of FAW into Africa, with subsequent migration into the recent invasive population.

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“…The FAW is naturally attacked by several microorganisms including entomopathogenic fungi (EPFs), nematodes, viruses and bacteria and larval mortalities were often found in infested corn fields (Withers et al 2022). In its native area, e.g., Mexico, FAW has been found infected naturally by EPFs (Cruz-Avalos et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural occurrence of Beauveria bassiana (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) infecting Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and earwig in eastern DR Congo

Cokola,

Ben Fekih,

Bisimwa

et al. 2023

Egypt J Biol Pest Control

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Background The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), poses a threat to the food security of populations in sub-Saharan Africa because of its damage to maize crops. As alternative to the use of hazardous pesticides, microbial control is one of the most promising sustainable approaches adopted to limit the damages caused by S. frugiperda. The sampling targeted mainly larvae of S. frugiperda; however, during the survey, cadavers of earwig found on the same sampling sites were also collected and involved in the study. Cadavers of targeted insects, with and without sign of fungal infection, were sampled from 3 localities in eastern DR Congo. Culture of fungal isolates was performed in selective Sabouraud dextrose agar media. Results Morphological study of fungal features such as conidia (shape and size) and conidiophores showed that the isolates were from the genus Beauveria. Conidial measurements were highly variable and ranged from 2.4 to 3.6 µm in length and from 1.75 to 3.0 µm in width. Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the 2 Beauveria isolates based on DNA sequencing of ITS-5.8S region confirmed that both isolates belong to Beauveria bassiana. The 2 isolates of B. bassiana P5E (OP419735.1) and KA14 (OP419734.1) were isolated from cadavers of FAW and earwig, respectively. The alignment with different sequences of B. bassiana from different continent showed that P5E belonged to the same clade of previous isolates reported from Iran and Mexico, while KA14 was with the same clade as isolates from Kenya and China. Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the occurrence of B. bassiana infecting FAW and earwig in eastern DR Congo and in Africa.

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The distribution of covert microbial natural enemies of a globally invasive crop pest, fall armyworm, in Africa: Enemy release and spillover events

Cited by 6 publications

References 75 publications

Genetic Diversity and Virulence Variation of Metarhizium rileyi from Infected Spodoptera frugiperda in Corn Fields

Genetic Diversity and Virulence Variation of Metarhizium rileyi from Infected Spodoptera frugiperda in Corn Fields

Global genomic signature reveals the evolution of fall armyworm in the Eastern hemisphere

Natural occurrence of Beauveria bassiana (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) infecting Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and earwig in eastern DR Congo

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