Toxicity testing of destruxins and crude extracts from the insect-pathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae

Increasing sensitivity towards secondary metabolites from fungal biological control agents (BCAs) has prompted the toxicological risk assessment of metabolites produced by the insect pathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. Viability studies on one human and one insect cell line were used to compare the two approaches of testing individual metabolites (destruxins A, B and E) or the complete crude extract from liquid cultures. Furthermore, crude extract was separated into fractions, which did not contain the main destruxins A, B and E. Evaluation of the cytotoxic activity of these different compounds suggested that a wide range of metabolites with synergistic or adverse effects are present in the crude extract. The results indicate that identification and toxicological assessment of each individual metabolite produced by a BCA is not only time and cost-intensive, but also does not convey the whole picture. Testing of the crude extract offers an alternative approach and is recommended when assessing the risks of metabolites for registration purposes.     

绿僵菌素A对家蚕cecropin B和gloverin 4基因表达的影响

绿僵菌素A(DA)是由金龟子绿僵菌Metarhizium anisopliae产生的一种环缩羧肽类次生化合物,具有抗昆虫免疫作用,但是人们对其影响免疫相关基因调控的机理缺乏了解。本实验以家蚕Bm12细胞为材料,采用RNAi技术沉默相关转录因子,结合荧光定量PCR(q PCR)技术,明确DA处理或沉默TOLL和IMD信号通路相关转录因子后抗菌肽cecropin B和gloverin 4基因表达的变化。实验发现,DA能引起抗菌肽cecropin B基因表达上调和gloverin 4基因表达下调。利用特异性siRNA分别沉默转录因子BmRelish1、BmRelish2、BmRel、Bm FOXg1后,发现只有沉默转录因子BmRelish时,cecropin B和gloverin 4基因表达才下调,说明这两种抗菌肽的合成均通过IMD信号通路调控。当沉默BmRelish1或BmRel基因及DA处理联合作用时,cecropin B基因显著下调,说明在抑制cecropin B合成时,DA与转录因子BmRelish1或者BmRel之间存在密切的协同效应;同样,在促进gloverin 4合成时,DA与转录因子BmRelish2之间也存在着协同效应。     

Development and characterization of a continuous cell line,AFKM-On-H,from hemocytes of the European corn borer <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Ostrinia nubilalis</Emphasis> (Hübner) (Lepidoptera,Pyralidae)

The corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, is a very important pest in different countries, and the in vitro system of the insect could be a useful tool for isolation and characterization of the pathogens and physiological responses of the insect. In this context, a cell line was derived from the hemocytes of the European corn borer and was named AFKM-On-H for, respectively, O. nubilalis, Armand Frappier, King Mongkut Institutes, and Hemocytes. This cell line was initiated and maintained in Ex-Cell 400 medium supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum. The cells, mostly spherical in shape, not firmly attached to the plastic culture flasks, were passaged up to 200 times by repeated gentle pipetting of the cells. The doubling times at the 80th and 125th passages at 28°C and at the 122th and 169th passages at 25°C were 40, 29, 35, and 34 h, respectively. The AFKM-On-H cell line was further characterized by the morphology, karyotype, random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis, and isozyme profiles. Susceptibility of the cell line to cytoplasmic polyhedrosis viruses (CPV) Euxoa scandens (EsCPV), Dendrolimus punctatus (DpCPV), and Choristoneura fumiferana (CfCPV); nuclear polyhedrosis viruses [Autographa californica (AcMNPV) wild type and recombinant, Antherea yammamai (AnyaNPV)]; and Chilo iridescent virus was demonstrated. Relative sensitivities of the cell line to Bacillus thuringiensis and Metarhizium anisopliae toxins and effects of the molting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone on this new hemocyte cell line were characterized.     

绿僵菌素对爪哇棒孢霉SP053菌株的影响及其混用对小菜蛾的联合毒力

为了寻找更有效的利用虫生真菌爪哇棒孢霉Isaria javanicus防治小菜蛾Plutella xylostella的新方法, 测定了绿僵菌素（destruxin）对SP053菌株生长发育与产孢量与萌发率的影响, 利用协同毒力指数法和毒力回归分析法评价了两者混用对小菜蛾2龄幼虫的联合毒力。结果表明: 绿僵菌素对SP053菌株菌丝生长、孢子萌发率和孢子产量均无显著影响（P>0.05）。而一定浓度的绿僵菌素与SP053菌株分生孢子混用具有增效作用, S50-CD100（指爪哇棒孢霉SP053菌株的分生孢子浓度为50×10⁵个/mL和绿僵菌素粗毒素的浓度为100 mg/L的组合; 依此类推）、S25-CD100、S25-CD50及S12.5-CD100等混配组合都有显著的增效效果, 尤其以S25-CD100组合增效效果最好, 其48 h和72 h的协同毒力指数（c.f.）分别达到52.31和31.07。毒力回归分析结果也显示, 添加绿僵菌素粗毒素25~100 mg/L的混剂的LC50值明显降低, 比如添加100 mg/L绿僵菌素粗毒素的混剂（SP053-CD100）, 其48和72 h的LC50分别为17.45和10.55 （×10⁵个孢子/mL）, 而SP053菌株分生孢子单剂的LC50相应值为>50和35.85（×10⁵个孢子/mL）。本研究证明绿僵菌素与爪哇棒孢霉SP053菌株混用有增效作用, 对改进小菜蛾的生物防治方法有一定指导意义。     

Circular dichroism analysis of destruxins from Metarhizium anisopliae

Destruxins are secondary metabolites secreted by Metarhizium anisopliae [Y. Kodaira, Toxic substances to insects, produced by Aspergillus ochraceus and Oopsra destructor, Agric. Biol. Chem., 25 (1961) 261-262. D.W. Roberts, Toxins from the entomogenous fungus Metarhizium anisoplaie: Isolation from submerged cultures, J. Invertebr. Pathol., 14 (1969) 82-88. D.W. Roberts, Toxins from the entomogenic fungi in microbial control of pest and plant disease, Academic press, New York, 1981, pp441-464.]. In recent research, other than being used as insecticides, destruxins exhibited great potential in therapeutical applications such as antitumor, antivirus, and animal cell immunization effectiveness, etc. In this study, the conformations purified destruxins were determined by circular dichroism (CD). The results indicated that these cyclic peptides have the type I beta-turn conformation. In addition, different types of destruxins exhibited different CD spectra in acetonitrile. Therefore, these characters can be used as fingerprints to identify each type of destruxin. To further investigate the interactions among destruxins, various combinations of destruxins in 10 mM phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) were also studied by CD. The results strongly suggested that destruxins might work independently in vivo. To our knowledge, this is the first report presenting the CD analysis of purified destruxins.     

Destruxin production by the entomogenous fungus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Metarhizium anisopliae</Emphasis> in insects and factors influencing their degradation

There is much public interest in the use of fungal biological control agents as alternatives to chemical pesticides. However, there are some concerns as to whether the metabolites produced by these fungi pose a risk to humans and the environment. Destruxins are the main metabolites produced by the insect pathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorok. The production of these compounds in two different insect hosts and their subsequent fate in the soil were assessed as a case study. Destruxin profiling revealed that the amount and type of destruxin produced was dependant upon the fungal strain and insect host and that these compounds decomposed shortly after host death. Destruxin decomposition was presumably due to the activity of hydrolytic enzymes in the cadavers and appeared to be independent of host or soil type and biota. Temperature strongly influenced destruxin decomposition. Our studies are the first to show that the destruxins are essentially restricted to the host and pathogen and are unlikely to contaminate the environment or enter the food chain.     

Characteristics of insecticidal substances from the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium pinghaense 15R against cotton aphid in Korea

Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are agricultural pests for a wide range of economically important crops worldwide. Entomopathogenic fungi have been studied and developed as a biological agents to control hard to control insect pests like the aphid. In particular, secondary metabolites produced by entomopathogenic fungi are being studied as insecticidal substances. This study evaluated the insecticidal activity and characteristics of insecticidal substances in culture filtrate against aphids to confirm the insecticidal substances produced by Metarhizium pinghaense 15R. After treating cotton aphids with the culture filtrate, strong insecticidal activity (100 % insect mortality) was observed on the third day of treatment, and it was confirmed that insecticidal substances in the culture filtrate had high thermal stability. In addition, the physicochemical properties of insecticidal substances in the culture filtrate were evaluated, and it was determined that the insecticidal substances were hydrophobic, with small molecules of 3 kDa or less. Based on these results, it was suspected that the insecticidal substances in the culture filtrate were destruxins (DTXs), which are representative secondary metabolites of Metarhizium known to have insecticidal activity. Through HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) analysis, the presence of DTX A and B was found in all active samples, and it was confirmed that the insecticidal substances of M. pinghaense 15R were DTXs. This study provides primary data for developing biochemical crop protection agents using these insecticidal substances, and we suggest the potential of using insecticidal substances of entomopathogenic fungi as biochemical pesticides in Korea.     

Antifeedant Properties of Destruxins and their Potential Use with the Entomogenous Fungus Metarhizium anisopliae for Improved Control of Crucifer Pests

Destruxins A, B and E, produced by the entomogenous fungus Metarhizium anisopliae, are insecticidal but comparatively low doses have antifeedant properties. Treatment of cabbage leaf discs with destruxins significantly reduced feeding by larvae of Plutella xylostella and Phaedon cochleariae in both choice and no-choice assays. The Antifeedant Index (AI) was dose related and there were significant differences between treated and untreated leaves. The AI and acute toxicity assays suggest that insect death was due to a combination of the starvation and toxicity effects of destruxins. In whole plant experiments, adults and larvae of P. cochleariae were found to be more susceptible to infection by M. anisopliae V245 if it was used in conjunction with a crude destruxin mixture. Destruxins drove larvae off the plant, irrespective of which leaf surface was treated. Adults could be forced to the adaxial or abaxial surface of leaves using the crude destruxin. Mortality was usually more consistent and generally greater if adults were forced to abaxial than adaxial surfaces inoculated with the fungus. High humidity on the abaxial surface favoured conidia germination and infection. Mortality was also greater for adults dusted with the pathogen and forced to the abaxial rather than to the adaxial leaf surface. The increased movement and starvation associated with destruxin treatment may also have stressed the insects making them more susceptible to infection.