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. 2023 May 23;13(1):8331.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-35415-x.

Biocontrol potential of native isolates of Beauveria bassiana against cotton leafworm Spodoptera litura (Fabricius)

Shah Mohammad Naimul Islam  1 , Md Zahid Hasan Chowdhury  2 , Mahjabin Ferdaous Mim  2 , Milia Bente Momtaz  3 , Tofazzal Islam  4
Affiliations

Biocontrol potential of native isolates of Beauveria bassiana against cotton leafworm Spodoptera litura (Fabricius)

Shah Mohammad Naimul Islam et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The entomopathogenic fungus (EPF), Beauveria bassiana, is reported as the most potent biological control agent against a wide range of insect families. This study aimed to isolate and characterize the native B. bassiana from various soil habitats in Bangladesh and to evaluate the bio-efficacy of these isolates against an important vegetable insect pest, Spodoptera litura. Seven isolates from Bangladeshi soils were characterized as B. bassiana using genomic analysis. Among the isolates, TGS2.3 showed the highest mortality rate (82%) against the 2nd instar larvae of S. litura at 7 days after treatment (DAT). This isolate was further bioassayed against different stages of S. litura and found that TGS2.3 induced 81, 57, 94, 84, 75, 65, and 57% overall mortality at egg, neonatal 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th instar larvae, respectively, over 7 DAT. Interestingly, treatment with B. bassiana isolate TGS2.3 resulted in pupal and adult deformities as well as decreased adult emergence of S. litura. Taken together, our results suggest that a native isolate of B. bassiana TGS2.3 is a potential biocontrol agent against the destructive insect pest S. litura. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the bio-efficacy of this promising native isolate in planta and field conditions.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Morphological features of a representative Beauveria isolate TGS2.3. (a) 15 days old culture, (b) Conidiophore with conidia.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of the ITS data set of 1000 bootstrap replications in GTR-GAMMA model.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of the TEF data set of 1000 bootstrap replicates in GTR-GAMMA model.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Biomass production of the B. bassiana isolates in SDA liquid broth. Values (means ± SEs) with different alphabetical letter(s) show statistically significant differences (lsd, p < 0.05).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Mortality rates of 2nd instar larvae of S. litura treated with Beauveria isolates. Values (means ± SEs) with different alphabetical letter show statistically significant differences (lsd, p < 0.05).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Cumulative mortality rates of S. litura treated with B. bassiana isolates over 7 days.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Day-one mortality of 2nd instar larvae of S. litura treated with B. bassiana isolates. Values (means ± SEs) with different alphabetical letter(s) show statistically significant differences (lsd, p < 0.05).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Mortality of S. litura eggs infected with B. bassiana isolate TGS2.3. Values (means ± SEs) with different alphabetical letter show statistically significant differences (lsd, p < 0.05).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Mortality of neonate stage larvae treated with TGS2.3 at egg stage. Values (means ± SEs) with different alphabetical letter show statistically significant differences (lsd, p < 0.05).
Figure 10
Figure 10
Mortality rates of different larval stages of S. litura treated with B. bassiana isolate TGS2.3. Values (means ± SEs) with different alphabetical letter(s) show statistically significant differences (lsd, p < 0.05).
Figure 11
Figure 11
Cumulative mortality of different larval instar of S. litura treated with B. bassiana isolate TGS2.3.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Larval cadaver of S. litura mycosed by B. bassiana isolate TGS2.3.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Adult emergence of larvae of S. litura due to treatment with B. bassiana isolate TGS2.3. Values (means ± SEs) with different alphabetical letter show statistically significant differences (lsd, p < 0.05).
Figure 14
Figure 14
Undetached adult from exuvium.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Pupal deformity of larvae of S. litura due to treatment with B. bassiana isolate TGS2.3. No statistically significant difference was observed among the values (means ± SEs) (lsd, p < 0.05).
Figure 16
Figure 16
Adult deformity of larvae of S. litura due to treatment with B. bassiana isolate TGS2.3. Values (means ± SEs) with different alphabetical letter show statistically significant differences (lsd, p < 0.05).
Figure 17
Figure 17
(a) Normal pupae, (b) Deformed pupae, (c) Normal adult, (d) Deformed adult.
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