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Subject: search.filters.subject.Beauveria bassiana

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    Development of Plant-Fungal Endophyte Associations to Suppress Phoma Stem Canker in Brassica
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2021-11-19) Roodi D; Millner JP; McGill CR; Johnson RD; Hea S-Y; Brookes JJ; Glare TR; Card SD; Santoyo G; White J; Kumar A; Mishra V
    Endophytic microorganisms are found within the tissues of many plants species, with some conferring several benefits to the host plant including resistance to plant diseases. In this study, two putative endophytic fungi that were previously isolated from wild seeds of Brassica, identified as Beauveria bassiana and Pseudogymnoascus pannorum, were inoculated into cultivars of three Brassica species-Brassica napus, Br. rapa and Br. oleracea. Both fungal endophytes were reisolated from above- and below-ground tissues of inoculated plants at four different plant-growth stages, including cotyledon, one-leaf, two-leaf, and four-leaf stages. None of the plants colonised by these fungi exhibited any obvious disease symptoms, indicating the formation of novel mutualistic associations. These novel plant-endophyte associations formed between Brassica plants and Be. bassiana significantly inhibited phoma stem canker, a devastating disease of Brassica crops worldwide, caused by the fungal pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans. The novel association formed with P. pannorum significantly suppressed the amount of disease caused by L. maculans in one out of two experiments. Although biological control is not a new strategy, endophytic fungi with both antiinsect and antifungal activity are a highly conceivable, sustainable option to manage pests and diseases of economically important crops.
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    Bio-prospecting for endophytes of Brassica : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Science at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Roodi, Davood
    Disease and insect pests are major limiting factors for crop production worldwide. Farmers are often heavily reliant on synthetic biochemicals and fertilisers to mitigate the negative impact of pests and disease and to increase crop yield. However, the extensive use of chemicals has led to environmental concerns due to contamination of soil and water, human health issues, disturbance of macro and microorganisms balance and the development of resistance by both insects and fungal pathogens. Use of biological control agents including endophytic microorganisms is an alternative control option to combat these problems. Many endophytes are able to provide their host with beneficial traits such as resistance against insect-pests and pathogens and enhance crop performance under abiotic stresses. Although beneficial microorganisms of brassica crops have been discovered, endophytes of wild brassica’s, particularly those associated with the seed, have been ignored. In this study, we screened seed of various brassica species with a worldwide distribution and isolated 131 bacterial and two fungal species. Molecular identification of bacterial isolates indicates that most seed accessions harboured endophytic bacteria belonging to 17 species. Among these isolates, two species, identified as Methylobacterium fujisawaense and Me. phyllosphaerae were dominant and widespread across the majority of accessions sampled, and originated from different species and locations. The inoculation of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) root with these endophytic bacteria significantly increased the fresh weight of the seedlings. The fungal endophyte species identified were Beauveria bassiana and Geomyces pannorum, isolated from two different accession of a wild brassica species (B. rapa). Inoculation of the seeds of three brassica species, B. napus, B. rapa and B. oleracea with these fungal endophytes resulted in infection of below and above ground tissues of inoculated seedlings but colonisation of the next generation seeds/seedlings did not occur. Seed inoculation, foliar application and soil drenching when the plants were grown on non-sterile soil also did not result in plant colonisation. A dual culture test was performed to study the antagonistic effect of these bacterial and fungal endophytes against Leptosphaeria maculans, the causal agent of phoma stem canker in brassica crops. The highest inhibition rate was recorded for Stenotrophomonas rhizophila, Novosphingobium resinovorum, Pseudomonas azotoformans, Plantibacter flavus, Me. fujisawaense and Me. phyllosphaerae which produced a significant inhibition zone indicating the antagonistic ability of these species. The fungal endophytes also suppressed the growth of the pathogen and created an inhibition zone. In planta tests in which the fungal endophytes were inoculated on to seed of a susceptible oilseed rape cultivar were also undertaken. At the cotyledon leaf stage, the leaf was punctured and spore suspension of L. maculans was placed on the wound site. Inoculated seedlings particularly B. bassiana, significantly decreased phoma stem canker disease symptoms on the cotyledon. To our knowledge, this is the first study that screen the fungal and bacterial endophytes of wild brassica species associated with the seeds and demonstrate their beneficial characteristic when inoculated to brassica crops.
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    Pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana PfBb and Immune Responses of a Non-Target Host, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
    (MDPI AG, 8/10/2022) Gao Y-P; Luo M; Wang X-Y; He X; Lu W; Zheng X-L
    Exploring the pathogenicity of a new fungus strain to non-target host pests can provide essential information on a large scale for potential application in pest control. In this study, we tested the pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana PfBb on the important agricultural pest Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) by determining the relative activities of protective enzymes and detoxifying enzymes in different larval instars. Our results show that the B. bassiana PfBb strain could infect all six larval instars of S. frugiperda, and its virulence to S. frugiperda larvae gradually increased with an increase in spore concentration. Seven days after inoculation, the LC50 of B. bassiana PfBb was 7.7 × 105, 5.5 × 106, 2.2 × 107, 3.1 × 108, 9.6 × 108, and 2.5 × 1011 spores/mL for first to sixth instars of S. frugiperda, respectively, and the LC50 and LC90 of B. bassiana PfBb for each S. frugiperda instar decreased with infection time, indicating a significant dose effect. Furthermore, the virulence of B. bassiana PfBb to S. frugiperda larvae gradually decreased with an increase in larval instar. The activities of protective enzymes (i.e., catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase) and detoxifying enzymes (i.e., glutathione S-transferases, carboxylesterase, and cytochrome P450) in S. frugiperda larvae of the first three instars infected with B. bassiana PfBb changed significantly with infection time, but such variations were not obvious in the fifth and sixth instars. Additionally, after being infected with B. bassiana PfBb, the activities of protective enzymes and detoxification enzymes in S. frugiperda larvae usually lasted from 12 to 48 h, which was significantly longer than the control. These results indicate that the pathogenicity of B. bassiana PfBb on the non-target host S. frugiperda was significant but depended on the instar stage. Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that B. bassiana PfBb can be used as a bio-insecticide to control young larvae of S. frugiperda in an integrated pest management program.