• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2014

Entomopathogenic fungi were isolated from Bemisia tabaci in an Oriental melon field, and their growth characteristics, factors related to a natural outbreak, and infectivity against Bemisia tabaci, Tetranychus urticae, and Frankliniella intonsa were investigated. The isolates had erect conidiophores bearing whorls of 4-6 phialides with a swollen base where cylindrical conidia of $3.0-3.4{\mu}m$ were attached. The isolates were identified as Isaria fumosorosea on the basis of morphological characteristics and an ITS sequence with 99% similarity. I. fumosorosea IFs-08 grew well on Sabouraud dextrose agar+yeast extract medium(3.2 mm/day/$24^{\circ}C$); it grew better at $35^{\circ}C$ than at $15^{\circ}C$. The isolates of I. fumosorosea-IFs were highly infective and killed 93.9-96.7% B. tabaci, 84.9-92.0% T. urticae, and 81.5-84.4% F. intonsa in bioassay, whereas three isolates (Isaria tenuipes, Isaria farinosa, and Isaria fumosorosea) from KACC showed a low infectivity of 10-20%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of I. fumosorosea isolated from B. tabaci in Korea.

• Mycobiology
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.59-65
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• 2014

Entomopathogenic fungi are promising pest-control agents but their industrial applicability is limited by their thermosusceptibility. With an aim to increase the thermotolerance of Isaria fumosorosea SFP-198, moisture absorbents were added to dried conidial powder, and the relationship between its water potential and thermotolerance was investigated. Mycotized rice grains were dried at $10^{\circ}C$, $20^{\circ}C$, $30^{\circ}C$, and $40^{\circ}C$ and the drying effect of each temperature for 24, 48, 96, and 140 hr was determined. Drying for 48 hr at $10^{\circ}C$ and $20^{\circ}C$ reduced the moisture content to < 5% without any significant loss of conidial thermotolerance, but drying at $30^{\circ}C$ and $40^{\circ}C$ reduced both moisture content and conidial thermotolerance. To maintain thermotolerance during storage, moisture absorbents, such as calcium chloride, silica gel, magnesium sulfate, white carbon, and sodium sulfate were individually added to previously dried-conidial powder at 10% (w/w). These mixtures was then stored at room temperature for 30 days and subjected to $50^{\circ}C$ for 2 hr. The white carbon mixture had the highest conidial thermotolerance, followed by silica gel, magnesium sulfate, and then the other absorbents. A significant correlation between the water potential and conidial thermotolerance was observed in all conidia-absorbent mixtures tested in this study (r = -0.945). Conidial thermotolerance in wet conditions was evaluated by adding moisturized white carbon (0~20% $H_2O$) to conidia to mimic wet conditions. Notably, the conidia still maintained their thermotolerance under these conditions. Thus, it is evident that conidial thermotolerance can be maintained by drying mycotized rice grains at low temperatures and adding a moisture absorbent, such as white carbon.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.64-70
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• 2013

The greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, is an economically important pest for greenhouse crops because they cause direct damage by feeding on plant nutrients and indirect damage as transmits many virus vectors. It has recently become a serious problem because of the continuous use of insecticide resulting in resistance among greenhouse whitefly population. To overcome these problems, in this study, the biological characteristics and virulence of an entomopathogenic fungus isolated from the cadaver of nymph greenhouse whitefly were investigated. Isolated fungus was identified as Isaria fumosorosea by morphological examinations and genetic identification using sequences of the ITS, ${\beta}$-tubulin, and EF1-${\alpha}$ regions. This fungus was named as I. fumosorosea SDTv and tested for the virulence against nymphs T. vaporariorum and the cold activity, the thermotolerance and the stability of UV-B irradiation on conidia. Mortality rate of greenhouse whitefly showed from 84 to 100% and the virulence increased with increasing conidial concentrations, $1{\times}10^5$ to $10^8$ conidia/ml. Conidia were stable at $35^{\circ}C$, 0.1 $J/cm^2$ of UV irradiation and germinated after 8 days at $4^{\circ}C$. Additionally, the activities of chitinases and proteases produced by I. fumosorosea SDTv were varied according to the medium. In conclusion, I. fumosorosea SDTv which showed high mortality rate against greenhouse whitefly will be used effectively in the integrated pest management programs against the greenhouse whitefly.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2016.05a
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• pp.13-13
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• 2016

Insects constitute the largest and most diverse group of animals in the world. They also serve as the hosts or nutrient sources for an immense assemblage of pathogens, parasites, and predators. More than 700 fungal species from 100 genera have adopted an entomopathogenic lifestyle. Although entomopathogenic fungi were studied as only biocontrol agents against a variety of pests in various countries, it has been recently focused their additional roles in nature. They are antagonists to/against plant pathogens, endophytes, and possibly even plant growth promoting agents. The potential antimicrobial effect against fungal plant pathogens by an isolate of entomopathogenic fungi including Beauveria bassiana, Lecanicillium spp., and Isaria fumosorosea have been reported since late 1990s, but wasn't reported pathogenicity of the isolate against pests. Later, a Canadian Lecanicillium sp. isolate and L. longisporium isolated from Vertalec$^{(R)}$ showed simultaneous control effect against both aphid and cucumber powder mildew. Therefore, the antimicrobial activities of 342 fungi isolates collected from various regions and conditions in Korea were evaluated against plant pathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea using dual culture technique on agar plate. As a result, 186 isolates (54.4%) shown the antifungal activity against B. cinerea. The culture filtrates of selected fungi completely suppressed the growth of the microorganisms, indicating that suppression was due to the presence of antimicrobial substances in the culture filtrate. Mode of action of these fungi against insect involves the attachment of conidia to the insect cuticle, followed by germination, cuticle penetration, and internal dissemination throughout the insect. During infection process, secreted enzymes, proteinous toxins, and/or secondary metabolites secreted by entomopathogenic fungi can be used to overcome the host immune system, modify host behavior, and defend host resources. Recently, secondary metabolites isolated from entomopathogenic fungi have been reported as potential bioactive substances. Generally, most of bioactive substances produced by entomopathogenic fungi have reported low molecular weight (lower than 1,000 g/mol) as peptide and, in contrast the high molecular weight fungal bioactive substances are rare. Most substances based on entomopathogenic fungi were shown antimicrobial activity with narrow control ranges. In our study we analyzed the antimicrobial substances having antagonistic effects to B. cinerea. Antimicrobial substances in our fungal culture filtrates showed high thermostability, high stability to proteolytic enzymes, and hydrophilicity and their molecular weights were differed from substance. In conclusion, entomopathogenic fungi showed pathogenicity against insect pests and culture filtrate of the fungi also shown to antimicrobial activity. In the future, we can use the entomopathogenic fungi and its secondary metabolites to control both insect pest control and plant pathogenic fungi simultaneously.