Molecular characterization and evaluation of indigenous entomopathogenic fungal isolates against Sorghum Chafer, Pachnoda interrupta (Olivier) in Ethiopia

Belay Habtegebriel; Emana Getu; Mohamed Dawd; Emiru Seyoum; Getnet Atnafu; Fathiya Khamis; Ylva Hilbur; Sunday Ekesi; Mattias C. Larsson

doi:10.5897/JEN2016.0159

Journal of
Entomology and Nematology

Abbreviation: J. Entomol. Nematol.
Language: English
ISSN: 2006-9855
DOI: 10.5897/JEN
Start Year: 2009
Published Articles: 139

Full Length Research Paper

Molecular characterization and evaluation of indigenous entomopathogenic fungal isolates against Sorghum Chafer, Pachnoda interrupta (Olivier) in Ethiopia

Belay Habtegebriel

Belay Habtegebriel
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Ambo Plant Protection Research Center, Ambo, P. O. Box 37, Ethiopia.
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Emana Getu

Emana Getu
Department of Zoological Sciences. College of Natural Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O.Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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Mohamed Dawd

Mohamed Dawd
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Ambo Plant Protection Research Center, Ambo, P. O. Box 37, Ethiopia.
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Emiru Seyoum

Emiru Seyoum
Department of Zoological Sciences. College of Natural Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O.Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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Getnet Atnafu

Getnet Atnafu
Debre Markos University,College of Natural and Computational Sciences,Department of Biology.
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Fathiya Khamis

Fathiya Khamis
International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Nairobi, Kenya.
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Ylva Hilbur

Ylva Hilbur
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria.
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Sunday Ekesi

Sunday Ekesi
International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Nairobi, Kenya.
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Mattias C. Larsson

Mattias C. Larsson
Division of Chemical Ecology, Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden.
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Article Number - B5EE60261449
Vol.8(5), pp. 34-45 , November 2016
https://doi.org/10.5897/JEN2016.0159

Received: 29 June 2016
Accepted: 15 August 2016
Published: 30 November 2016

Abstract

Sorghum chafer, Pachnoda interrupta (Olivier) is a damaging pest of sorghum, other cereals and horticultural crops in Africa which results in complete crop loss. Currently, the management strategies rely heavily on chemical pesticides, which do not provide effective control. There is evidence showing that microbial biocontrol agents have the potential to control P. interrupta. In this study, the entomopathogenic fungi isolated from soils and insects in Ethiopia were identified using morphological and cultural characteristics. These were then evaluated for viability and virulence against Galleria mellonella (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) larvae and P. interrupta adults. Firstly, 116 Metarhizium spp. and Beauveria spp. were considered. The isolates were evaluated based on high viability as measured by percentage germination on SDA media. Only 56 isolates had greater than 70% viability. Secondly, these were further evaluated using conidial suspensions applied to G. mellonella larvae at a concentration of 1×10⁸conidia/ml. Four Beauveria spp. and three Metarhizium spp. isolates which caused over 60% mortality were selected for final virulence assay against adults of P. interrupta. The selected isolates were further confirmed by PCR amplification of ITS4 and ITS5 gene regions and chi1 and chi4 primers. Finally, the seven isolates were evaluated for virulence against P. interrupta at a dose of 1 mg dry conidia/10 beetles under laboratory condition. Mortality of P. interrupta ranged from 14% for isolate 9604 to 82% for isolate PPRC51. Dose-response tests showed that the LD₅₀ of PPRC2 (0.62 mg/10 beetles) and PPRC51 (0.55 mg/10 beetles) isolates were not significantly different from each other. The results demonstrated the high potential of the two isolates (PPRC51 and PPRC2) as microbial biocontrol agents. However, field evaluation of the isolates should be performed for their development into a mycopesticide against P. interrupta.