Co-expression and Synergism Analysis of Vip3Aa29 and Cyt2Aa3 Insecticidal Proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis

Vegetative insecticidal protein (Vip3) from Bacillus thuringiensis shows high activity against lepidopteran insects. Cytolytic δ-endotoxin (Cyt) also has high toxicity to dipteran larvae and synergism with other crystal proteins (Cry), but synergism between Cyt and Vip3 proteins has not been tested. We analyzed for synergism between Cyt2Aa3 and Vip3Aa29. Both cyt2Aa3 and vip3Aa29 genes were co-expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21 carried on vector pCOLADuet-1. Vip3Aa29 showed insecticidal activity against Chilo suppressalis and Spodoptera exigua, with 50% lethal concentration (LC(50)) at 24.0 and 36.6 μg ml(-1), respectively. It could also inhibit Helicoverpa armigera growth, with 50% inhibition concentration at 22.6 μg ml(-1). While Cyt2Aa3 was toxic to Culex quinquefasciatus (LC(50): 0.53 μg ml(-1)) and Chironomus tepperi (LC(50): 36 μg ml(-1)), it did not inhibit C. suppressalis, S. exigua, and H. armigera. However, the co-expression of Cyt2Aa3 and Vip3Aa29 showed synergistic effect on C. suppressalis and S. exigua, and the individual activities were strengthened 3.35- and 4.34-fold, respectively. The co-expression had no synergism against C. tepperi and H. armigera, but exerted some antagonistic effect on Cx. quinquefasciatus. The synergism between Cyt2Aa and Vip3Aa was thus discovered for the first time, which confirmed that Cyt toxin can enhance the toxicity of other toxins against some non-target insects. By synergism analysis, the effectiveness of microbial insecticides can be verified.     

Investigation of the steps involved in the difference of susceptibility of Ephestia kuehniella and Spodoptera littoralis to the Bacillus thuringiensis Vip3Aa16 toxin

BUPM95 is a Bacillusthuringiensis subsp. kurstaki strain producing the Vip3Aa16 toxin with an interesting insecticidal activity against the Lepidopteran larvae Ephestia kuehniella. Study of different steps in the mode of action of this Vegetative Insecticidal Protein on the Mediterranean flour moth (E. kuehniella) was carried out in the aim to investigate the origin of the higher susceptibility of this insect to Vip3Aa16 toxin compared to that of the Egyptian cotton leaf worm Spodoptera littoralis. Using E. kuehniella gut juice, protoxin proteolysis generated a major band corresponding to the active toxin and another band of about 22 kDa, whereas the activation of Vip3Aa16 by S. littoralis gut juice proteases generated less amount of the 62 kDa active form and three other proteolysis products. As demonstrated by zymogram analysis, the difference in proteolysis products was due to the variability of proteases in the two gut juices larvae. The study of the interaction of E. kuehniella BBMV with biotinylated Vip3Aa16 showed that this toxin bound to a putative receptor of 65 kDa compared to the 55 and 100 kDa receptors recognized in S. littoralis BBMV. The histopathological observations demonstrated similar damage caused by the toxin in the two larvae midguts. These results demonstrate that the step of activation, mainly, is at the origin of the difference of susceptibility of these two larvae towards B. thuringiensis Vip3Aa16 toxin.     

棉铃虫幼虫取食Vip3Aa蛋白后的中肠组织病理变化

为了进一步明确Vip3Aa的作用机制, 利用透射电镜观察了棉铃虫4龄幼虫取食含Vip3Aa蛋白饲料后中肠杯状细胞的病理变化, 并比较了其病变与取食含Cry1Ac饲料后棉铃虫组织病变的差异。取食含Vip3Aa饲料后, 棉铃虫幼虫的中肠杯状细胞逐渐发生病变, 主要表现为： 微绒毛肿胀、 脱落; 细胞核核膜界限不清晰, 染色质分布不均匀; 线粒体变形、 数量减少, 内脊不清晰; 内质网杂乱不规则、 数量减少。与取食Cry1Ac的棉铃虫相比, 取食Vip3Aa的棉铃虫中肠杯状细胞发生病变较为缓慢, 在取食12 h后才发现明显病变, 随着取食时间的增加病变越来越明显; 而取食Cry1Ac的棉铃虫2 h后中肠杯状细胞就出现明显病变。本研究可为Vip3Aa作为新毒素策略的重要蛋白在棉铃虫Helicoverpa armigera综合防治中更好地发挥作用提供理论依据。     

Insecticidal properties of a crystal protein gene product isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kenyae.

A protoxin gene, localized to a high-molecular-weight plasmid from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kenyae, was cloned on a 19-kb BamHI DNA fragment into Escherichia coli. Characterization of the gene revealed it to be a member of the CryIE toxin subclass which has been reported to be as toxic as the CryIC subclass to larvae from Spodoptera exigua in assays with crude E. coli extracts. To directly test the purified recombinant gene product, the gene was subcloned as a 4.8-kb fragment into an expression vector resulting in the overexpression of a 134-kDa protein in the form of phase-bright inclusions in E. coli. Treatment of solubilized inclusion bodies with either trypsin or gut juice from the silkworm Bombyx mori resulted in the appearance of a protease-resistant 65-kDa protein. In force-feeding bioassays, the purified activated protein was highly toxic to larvae of B. mori but not to larvae of Choristoneura fumiferana. In diet bioassays with larvae from S. exigua, the purified protoxin was nontoxic. However, prior activation of the protoxin by tryptic digestion resulted in the appearance of some toxic activity. These results demonstrate that this new subclass of protein toxin may not be useful for the control of Spodoptera species as previously reported. Hierarchical clustering of the nine known lepidopteran-specific CryI toxin subclasses through multiple sequence alignment suggests that the toxins fall into four possible subgroups or clusters.     

Structural and functional role of Domain I for the insecticidal activity of the Vip3Aa protein from Bacillus thuringiensis

Vip3 proteins are produced by Bacillus thuringiensis and are toxic against lepidopterans, reason why the vip3Aa gene has been introduced into cotton and corn to control agricultural pests. Recently, the structure of Vip3 proteins has been determined and consists of a tetramer where each monomer is composed of five structural domains. The transition from protoxin to the trypsin-activated form involves a major conformational change of the N-terminal Domain I, which is remodelled into a tetrameric coiled-coil structure that is thought to insert into the apical membrane of the midgut cells. To better understand the relevance of this major change in Domain I for the insecticidal activity, we have generated several mutants aimed to alter the activity and remodelling capacity of this central region to understand its function. These mutants have been characterized by proteolytic processing, negative staining electron microscopy, and toxicity bioassays against Spodoptera exigua. The results show the crucial role of helix α1 for the insecticidal activity and in restraining the Domain I in the protoxin conformation, the importance of the remodelling of helices α2 and α3, the proteolytic processing that takes place between Domains I and II, and the role of the C-t Domains IV and V to sustain the conformational change necessary for toxicity.     

Study of the Bacillus thuringiensis Vip3Aa16 histopathological effects and determination of its putative binding proteins in the midgut of Spodoptera littoralis

The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis produces, at the vegetative stage of its growth, Vip3A proteins with activity against a broad spectrum of lepidopteran insects. The Egyptian cotton leaf worm (Spodoptera littoralis) is an important agricultural pest that is susceptible to the Vip3Aa16 protein of Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki strain BUPM95. The midgut histopathology of Vip3Aa fed larvae showed vacuolization of the cytoplasm, brush border membrane destruction, vesicle formation in the apical region and cellular disintegration. Biotinylated Vip3Aa toxin bound proteins of 55- and 100-kDa on blots of S. littoralis brush border membrane preparations. These binding proteins differ in molecular size from those recognized by Cry1C, one of the very few Cry proteins active against the polyphagous S. littoralis. This result supports the use of Vip3Aa16 proteins as insecticidal agent, especially in case of Cry-resistance management.     

Screening for Bacillus thuringiensis crystal proteins active against the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni

Toxicity tests were performed to find among Cry1 and Cry2 Bacillus thuringiensis crystal proteins those with high activity against the cabbage looper. Tests were performed with neonate larvae on surface-contaminated artificial diet. The crystal proteins found to be toxic were, from higher to lower toxicity: Cry1Ac, Cry1Ab, Cry1C, Cry2Aa, Cry1J, and Cry1F (LC50 of 1.14.1, 3.4-4.4, 12, 34, 87, and 250 ng/cm2, respectively). Cry1B, Cry1D, and Cry1E can be considered nontoxic (LC50 higher than 2500 ng/cm2). Cry1Aa was moderately toxic to nontoxic, depending on the source (LC50 of 420 ng/cm2 from PGS and 8100 ng/cm2 from Ecogen). In vitro binding assays with trypsin-activated 125I-labeled Cry1Aa, Cry1Ab, and Cry1Ac crystal proteins and brush border membrane vesicles from midgut larvae showed a direct correlation between toxicity and binding affinity. Heterologous competition experiments indicated that Cry1Aa and Cry1F bind, though only at very high concentrations, to the Cry1Ab/Cry1Ac shared high-affinity binding site.     

In Vivo and In Vitro Binding of Vip3Aa to Spodoptera frugiperda Midgut and Characterization of Binding Sites by 125I Radiolabeling

Bacillus thuringiensis vegetative insecticidal proteins (Vip3A) have been recently introduced in important crops as a strategy to delay the emerging resistance to the existing Cry toxins. The mode of action of Vip3A proteins has been studied in Spodoptera frugiperda with the aim of characterizing their binding to the insect midgut. Immunofluorescence histological localization of Vip3Aa in the midgut of intoxicated larvae showed that Vip3Aa bound to the brush border membrane along the entire apical surface. The presence of fluorescence in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells seems to suggest internalization of Vip3Aa or a fragment of it. Successful radiolabeling and optimization of the binding protocol for the ¹²⁵I-Vip3Aa to S. frugiperda brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) allowed the determination of binding parameters of Vip3A proteins for the first time. Heterologous competition using Vip3Ad, Vip3Ae, and Vip3Af as competitor proteins showed that they share the same binding site with Vip3Aa. In contrast, when using Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac as competitors, no competitive binding was observed, which makes them appropriate candidates to be used in combination with Vip3A proteins in transgenic crops.     

新vip3Aa基因的克隆、表达及其序列分析

克隆了Bt9816C的vip3A基因,并将测序结果提交到GenBank(序列号:AY945939)。该基因是一个新的vip3Aa基因,Bt杀虫晶体蛋白命名委员会将其命名为vip3Aa18。在大肠杆菌BL21中表达了该基因,生物测定结果表明纯化的Vip3Aa18蛋白对棉铃虫和甜菜夜蛾具有很高的杀虫活性。序列分析结果显示Vip3Aa18C端536至667位氨基酸残基间是一个糖类结合域,推测可能参与Vip3Aa18与敏感昆虫中肠受体结合;N端272至292位氨基酸残基间存在一个跨膜螺旋,可能与Vip3Aa18形成穿孔有关。此外,Vip3Aa18还可能具有一个二硫键。这些特殊区域和位点可能与其功能密切相关。     

棉铃虫和甜菜夜蛾中肠丝氨酸蛋白酶活性测定以及活化、降解Cry1Ac毒素分析

昆虫中肠对Bt原毒素活化与对活化毒素降解的变化被认为是害虫对Bt产生的机制之一,研究比较棉铃虫Helicoverpa armigera(Hübner)与甜菜夜蛾Spodoptera exigua(Hübner)的中肠液、BBMV蛋白酶的活性,通过SDS-PAGE分析2种昆虫对原毒素的活化速度与对活化毒素的降解速度。2种昆虫的中肠液蛋白酶活性均显著高于BBMV蛋白酶活性,中肠液与BBMV均能迅速活化原毒素并继续降解活化后的毒素,与中肠液相比,BBMV对原毒素的活化与对活化毒素的降解均慢于中肠液,甜菜夜蛾对毒素的活化与降解又慢于棉铃虫。另外,还测定抑制剂对中肠液蛋白酶活性的抑制作用,结果表明,各抑制剂对棉铃虫和甜菜夜蛾相应酶活性的抑制表现出相同的趋势,TLCK对丝氨酶蛋白酶具较好的抑制作用,而PMSF对胰蛋白酶的抑制作用次之,TPCK对胰凝乳蛋白酶的抑制作用较弱。     

棉铃虫和甜菜夜蛾中肠丝氨酸蛋白酶活性测定以及活化、降解CrylAc毒素分析

昆虫中肠对Bt原毒素活化与对活化毒素降解的变化被认为是害虫对Bt产生的机制之一,研究比较棉铃虫Helicoverpa armigern（Hǔbner）与甜菜夜蛾Spodoptera exigm（Hǔbner）的中肠液、BBMV蛋白酶的活性,通过SDS-PAGE分析2种昆虫对原毒素的活化速度与对活化毒素的降解速度。2种昆虫的中肠液蛋白酶活性均显著高于BBMV蛋白酶活性,中肠液与BBMV均能迅速活化原毒素并继续降解活化后的毒素,与中肠液相比,BBMV对原毒素的活化与对活化毒素的降解均慢于中肠液,甜菜夜蛾对毒素的活化与降解又慢于棉铃虫。另外,还测定抑制剂对中肠液蛋白酶活性的抑制作用,结果表明,各抑制剂对棉铃虫和甜菜夜蛾相应酶活性的抑制表现出相同的趋势,TLCK对丝氨酶蛋白酶具较好的抑制作用,而PMSF对胰蛋白酶的抑制作用次之,TPCK对胰凝乳蛋白酶的抑制作用较弱。     

Toxicity and characterization of cotton expressing Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab2 proteins for control of lepidopteran pests

Cry1Ac protoxin (the active insecticidal toxin in both Bollgard and Bollgard II cotton [Gossypium hirsutum L.]), and Cry2Ab2 toxin (the second insecticidal toxin in Bollgard II cotton) were bioassayed against five of the primary lepidopteran pests of cotton by using diet incorporation. Cry1Ac was the most toxic to Heliothis virescens (F.) and Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), demonstrated good activity against Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), and had negligible toxicity against Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) and Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith). Cry2Ab2 was the most toxic to P. gossypiella and least toxic to S. frugiperda. Cry2Ab2 was more toxic to S. exigua and S. frugiperda than Cry1Ac. Of the three insect species most sensitive to both Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins (including H. zea), P. gossypiella was only three-fold less sensitive to Cry2Ab2 than Cry1Ac, whereas H. virescens was 40-fold less sensitive to Cry2Ab2 compared with CrylAc. Cotton plants expressing Cry1Ac only and both Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab2 proteins were characterized for toxicity against H. zea and S.frugiperda larvae in the laboratory and H. zea larvae in an environmental chamber. In no-choice assays on excised squares from plants of different ages, second instar H. zea larvae were controlled by Cry1Ac/Cry2Ab2 cotton with mortality levels of 90% and greater at 5 d compared with 30-80% mortality for Cry1Ac-only cotton, depending on plant age. Similarly, feeding on leaf discs from Cry1Ac/Cry2Ab2 cotton resulted in mortality of second instars of S.frugiperda ranging from 69 to 93%, whereas exposure to Cry1Ac-only cotton yielded 20-69% mortality, depending on plant age. When cotton blooms were infested in situ in an environmental chamber with neonate H. zea larvae previously fed on synthetic diet for 0, 24, or 48 h, 7-d flower abortion levels for Cry1Ac-only cotton were 15, 41, and 63%, respectively, whereas for Cry1Ac/Cry2Ab2 cotton, flower abortion levels were 0, 0, and 5%, respectively. Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab2 concentrations were measured within various cotton tissues of Cry1Ac-only and Cry1Ac/Cry2Ab2 plants, respectively, by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Terminal leaves significantly expressed the highest, and large leaves, calyx, and bracts expressed significantly the lowest concentrations of Cry1Ac, respectively. Ovules expressed significantly the highest, and terminal leaves, large leaves, bracts, and calyx expressed significantly (P < 0.05) the lowest concentrations of Cry2Ab2. These results help explain the observed differences between Bollgard and Bollgard II mortality against the primary lepidopteran cotton pests, and they may lead to improved scouting and resistance management practices, and to more effective control of these pests with Bt transgenic crops in the future.     

粘虫颗粒体病毒与苏云金杆菌联合作用对甜菜夜蛾的影响

以甜菜夜蛾为试虫,测定了粘虫颗粒体病毒（PuGV-Ps）对苏云金杆菌（Bt）毒力的增效作用。结果表明PuGV对甜菜夜蛾没有致毒作用,但Bt中加入PuGV后可以提高Bt对甜菜夜蛾的毒力,甜菜夜蛾致死中量LC50由Bt单剂的1．094mg／mL下降到0．862mg／mL,共毒系数达127。亚致死剂量Bt处理甜菜夜蛾影响了幼虫的生长发育,表现为幼虫生长量相对减少、蛹重下降、化蛹率降低和化蛹历期延长,添加了PuGV-Ps后进一步增强了Bt对甜菜夜蛾的生长发育的抑制作用。甜菜夜蛾中肠蛋白酶活性测定结果表明,PuGV-Ps对甜菜夜蛾中肠酶活性具有抑制作用;昆虫同时取食PuGV-Ps和Bt后,中肠酶液总蛋白酶活力都有所下降,在中肠酶液最适pH范围内蛋白酶活力抑制作用最明显。     

Characterization and comparison of midgut proteases of Bacillus thuringiensis susceptible and resistant diamondback moth (Plutellidae: Lepidoptera)

The midgut proteases of the Bacillus thuringiensis resistant and susceptible populations of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella L. were characterized by using protease specific substrates and inhibitors. The midgut contained trypsin-like proteases of molecular weights of 97, 32, 29.5, 27.5, and 25 kDa. Of these five proteases, 29.5 kDa trypsin-like protease was the most predominant in activation of protoxins of Cry1Aa and Cry1Ab. The activation of Cry1Ab protoxin by midgut protease was fast (T(1/2) of 23-24 min) even at a protoxin:protease ratio of 250:1. The protoxin activation appeared to be multi-step process, and at least seven intermediates were observed before formation of a stable toxin of about 57.4 kDa from protoxin of about 133 kDa. Activation of Cry1Aa was faster than that of Cry1Ab on incubation of protoxins with midgut proteases and bovine trypsin. The protoxin and toxin forms of Cry proteins did not differ in toxicity towards larvae of P. xylostella. The differences in susceptibility of two populations to B. thuringiensis Cry1Ab were not due to midgut proteolytic activity. Further, the proteolytic patterns of Cry1A protoxins were similar in the resistant as well as susceptible populations of P. xylostella.     

Ex vivo cytotoxicity of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry4B delta-endotoxin to isolated midguts of Aedes aegypti larvae

The pathological effect of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry delta- endotoxins on susceptible insect larvae had extensive damage on the midgut epithelial cells. In this study, an ex vivo assay was devised for assessing the insecticidal potency of the cloned Cry4B mosquito-larvicidal protein that is expressed in Escherichia coli. Determination of toxicity was carried out by using a cell viability assay on the midguts that were dissected from 5-day old Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae. After incubation with the toxin proteins, the number of viable epithelial cells was determined photometrically by monitoring the quantity of the bioreduced formazan product at 490 nm. The results showed that the 65-kDa trypsin-activated Cry4B toxin exhibited toxic potency ca. 3.5 times higher than the 130-kDa Cry4B protoxin. However, the trypsin-treated products of the non-bioactive Cry4B mutant (R158A) and the lepidopteran-specific Cry1Aa toxin displayed relatively no ex vivo activity on the mosquito-larval midguts. The ex vivo cytotoxicity studies presented here confirms data that was obtained in bioassays.     

3种拟除虫菊酯类农药对草地贪夜蛾的毒力测定及田间应用效果评价

评价使用氟氯氰菊酯、溴氰菊酯、高效氯氟氰菊酯喷雾和喇叭口点施处理对草地贪夜蛾的活性与防效,为草地贪夜蛾综合防控提供技术支持。采用喷雾法测定了3种农药原药对草地贪夜蛾3龄幼虫毒力;采用喷雾和喇叭口点施2种方式田间施用5.7%氟氯氰菊酯乳油、25 g/L溴氰菊酯乳油、5.0%高效氯氟氰菊酯乳油,药后第1天、第3天、第7天调查挂牌标记玉米上草地贪夜蛾活虫数,计算防治效果。3种拟除虫菊酯农药对草地贪夜蛾3龄幼虫LC 50值大小顺序依次为氟氯氰菊酯(29.80 mg/L)<高效氯氟氰菊酯(42.39 mg/L)<溴氰菊酯(49.88 mg/L);3种拟除虫菊酯类农药在54.00 g a.i./ha剂量下均能明显降低草地贪夜蛾田间虫口数量,同等剂量防效氟氯氰菊酯乳油>高效氯氟氰菊酯乳油>溴氰菊酯微乳剂。由于草地贪夜蛾低龄幼虫和高龄幼虫取食部位有差异,喷雾法防治低龄幼虫的效果好,喇叭口点施防治高龄幼虫的效果好。拟除虫菊酯类农药对草地贪夜蛾具有较好的防治效果,喇叭口点施方式节省药剂、提高对高龄幼虫的防效,在防治草地贪夜蛾等害虫方面具有广阔的应用前景。     

Gene knockout demonstrates that vip3A contributes to the pathogenesis of Bacillus thuringiensis toward Agrotis ipsilon and Spodoptera exigua

Vip3A is an 89-kDa protein secreted by Bacillus thuringiensis during vegetative growth. To determine the importance of Vip3A for the insect pathogenicity of B. thuringiensis the vip3A gene was deleted from strain HD1, yielding strain HD1Deltavip3A. Compared with HD1, strain HD1Deltavip3A was one-fourth as toxic to Agrotis ipsilon larvae and less than one-tenth as toxic to Spodoptera exigua larvae. When streptomycin was included in the S. exigua diet the toxicity of HD1Deltavip3A was approximately half that of HD1. Addition of HD1 spores increased the toxicity of purified Cry1 protein more than 600-fold against S. exigua, whereas addition of HD1Deltavip3A spores increased toxicity of Cry1 protein approximately 10-fold. These results demonstrate that an important component of B. thuringiensis insecticidal activity against S. exigua is the synthesis of Vip3A protein by B. thuringiensis cells after ingestion of spores and crystal proteins by insect larvae.     

Production of chymotrypsin-resistant Bacillus thuringiensis Cry2Aa1 delta-endotoxin by protein engineering.

Cleavage of the Cry2Aa1 protoxin (molecular mass, 63 kDa) from Bacillus thuringiensis by midgut juice of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) larvae resulted in two major protein fragments: a 58-kDa fragment which was highly toxic to the insect and a 49-kDa fragment which was not toxic. In the midgut juice, the protoxin was processed into a 58-kDa toxin within 1 min, but after digestion for 1 h, the 58-kDa fragment was further cleaved within domain I, resulting in the protease-resistant 49-kDa fragment. Both the 58-kDa and nontoxic 49-kDa fragments were also found in vivo when (125)I-labeled toxin was fed to the insects. N-terminal sequencing revealed that the protease cleavage sites are at the C termini of Tyr49 and Leu144 for the active fragment and the smaller fragment, respectively. To prevent the production of the nontoxic fragment during midgut processing, five mutant proteins were constructed by replacing Leu144 of the toxin with Asp (L144D), Ala (L144A), Gly (L144G), His (L144H), or Val (L144V) by using a pair of complementary mutagenic oligonucleotides in PCR. All of the mutant proteins were highly resistant to the midgut proteases and chymotrypsin. Digestion of the mutant proteins by insect midgut extract and chymotrypsin produced only the active 58-kDa fragment, except that L144H was partially cleaved at residue 144.     

喜树碱对草地贪夜蛾幼虫中肠细菌群落组成及多样性的影响

草地贪夜蛾Spodoptera frugiperda(J.E.Smith)是一种重要的入侵害虫,对多种作物生产造成严重的威胁.喜树碱是一种单萜类吲哚生物碱,对草地贪夜蛾幼虫生长发育具有显著抑制效果.本研究采用饲料混药法将喜树碱以1 mg/kg浓度处理草地贪夜蛾4龄幼虫3 d,解剖幼虫收集中肠内容物后采用16S rDNA...     

一株玫烟色虫草对草地贪夜蛾的致病性研究

草地贪夜蛾Spodoptera frugiperda(J.E Smith)是我国新发现的一种重要外来入侵害虫。为了寻找对草地贪夜蛾有致病性的昆虫病原真菌,本实验采用浸虫法研究了玫烟色虫草Cordyceps(=Isaria)fumosorosea SCAU-IFCF01对草地贪夜蛾1~6龄幼虫的致病力,通过体视镜观察了幼虫感菌后侵染症状和体表病变过程。结果表明:菌株IFCF01可侵染草地贪夜蛾6个龄期的幼虫。4龄幼虫接种后48 h,虫体出现缩短、强直等形态变化;接种后72 h,幼虫死亡且体外形成菌丝层;接种后120 h,虫体被浅玫烟色的分生孢子覆盖。随孢子浓度的升高,幼虫的感病死亡率增加,当浓度达到1×109孢子/mL时,1~3龄幼虫的累计死亡率均为100%,4龄幼虫和5龄幼虫也达到了98.9%和50%,6龄幼虫仅21.1%。5 d后1~5龄幼虫的LC 50值分别为3.74×104、1.17×105、1.86×105、8.09×105和3.03×108孢子/mL。幼虫LT 50值随孢子浓度增加而递减,在浓度为1.0×105~1.0×109孢子/mL的范围内,1龄幼虫和2龄幼虫的LT 50值分别为3.62~1.37 d和4.51~1.65 d;在1.0×106~1.0×109孢子/mL时,对3龄幼虫的LT 50为4.03~1.82 d;浓度为1.0×107~1.0×109孢子/mL时,对4龄幼虫的LT 50为3.47~2.52 d。浓度为1.0×109孢子/mL时,5龄幼虫的LT 50为4.74 d。本研究结果表明,玫烟色虫草菌株IFCF01对草地贪夜蛾幼虫具有较强的致病力,为今后草地贪夜蛾微生物防治提供重要的有效真菌。