Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jul 16:13:800.
doi: 10.12688/f1000research.148658.1. eCollection 2024.

Evaluation of endophytic colonization and establishment of entomopathogenic fungi against Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in tomato plants

Dereje Geremew  1 , Tadale Shiberu  2 , Ararsa Leta  2
Affiliations

Evaluation of endophytic colonization and establishment of entomopathogenic fungi against Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in tomato plants

Dereje Geremew et al. F1000Res. .

Abstract

Background: The tomato, Solanum lycopersicum L., is one of the most important horticultural crops that can be consumed fresh or after being processed worldwide. The tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta) is one of the most devastating pest to tomato plants due to its mine-feeding nature in the mesophyll tissue of the plant. Fungal entomopathogens can exist naturally in plants as an asymptote. This study aimed to detect the endophytic colonization of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium robertsii within tomato plants via artificial inoculation and their virulence effects on Tuta absoluta.

Methods: Isolates with the highest percent germination and virulence against T. absoluta were selected for endophytic evaluation within tomato plants by different artificial inoculation techniques.

Results: This study revealed that, isolates with the highest percent germination and virulent to Tuta absoluta had the potential to colonize tomato plants. The result showed that, the maximum mortality rate (97.5%) of Tuta absoluta larvae was achieved by Metarhizium robertsii isolate K-61 at a concentration of 1x10 8conidial/ml at 7 days post inoculated. However, the highest cumulative mortality (100%) was recorded by Beauveria bassiana isolate APPRC-27 at 10 days post inoculated through the direct contact method. The highest endophytic colonization was registered by isolate APPRC-27 (76.67%) at 7 days post-inoculated using the leaf spray technique, but it declined to 11.67% after 28 days of inoculated. In the case of the seedling inoculation technique, the highest endophytic colonization was obtained in the root tissues of tomatoes at 28 days of inoculated by isolate K-61.

Conclusions: This study revealed that the leaf spray inoculation technique was the most effective method, followed by seedling inoculation, for the deployment of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium robertsii endophytes in tomato plant tissues. Therefore, virulent Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium robertsii, are promising bioagents for the control of Tuta absoluta if deployed as endophytes.

Keywords: Beauveria bassiana; Colonization; Endophytic; Metarhizium robertsii; Tuta absoluta; entomopathogenic fungi.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No competing interests were disclosed.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Mycosis of B. bassiana and M. robertsii isolates over cadavers.
A = B. bassiana, B = M. robertsii.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Cumulative mortality of larvae.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. Recovery of isolates from tomato plants 7-DPI by leaf spray techniques.
A = colony color (front) of B. bassiana, B = colony color (front) M. robertsii.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.. Morphology of B. bassiana and M. robertsii after recovery from tomato.
C = colony color of isolate APPRC-27 from tomato roots; C (2) colony color of isolate APPRC-27 from tomato leaves; D = colony color (front-to-left, back-to-right) of isolate K-61.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abbott WSJJE: A method of computing the effectiveness of an insecticide. J. Econ. Entomol. 1925;18(2):265–267. 10.1093/jee/18.2.265a - DOI
    1. Ahlholm JU, Helander M, Henriksson J, et al. : Environmental conditions and host genotype direct genetic diversity of Venturia ditricha, a fungal endophyte of birch trees. Evolution. 2002;56(8):1566–1573. - PubMed
    1. Akello J, Dubois T, Coyne D, et al. : Colonization and persistence of the entomopathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana, in tissue culture of banana. 8th African Crop Science Society Conference, El-Minia, Egypt, 27-31 October 2007. African Crop Science Society. 2007; pp.857–861.
    1. Allegrucci N, Velazquez M-S, Russo M-L, et al. : Establishment of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana as an endophyte in Capsicum annuum and its effects on the aphid pest Myzus persicae (Homoptera: Aphididae). 2020;68(4):1084–1094.
    1. Allegrucci N, Velazquez MS, Russo ML, et al. : Endophytic colonisation of tomato by the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana: The use of different inoculation techniques and their effects on the tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). J. Plant Prot. Res. 2017;57:331–337.

Supplementary concepts

LinkOut - more resources