Argentine Metarhizium spp. isolates: Molecular identification, blastospores production, and its pathogenicity against Blattella germanica adults
Blattella germanica is the most prevalent synanthropic pest and negatively impacts human health, as do the synthetic chemical insecticides used to control them. In contrast, Metarhizium spp. is a well known fungus that can infect insects and other arthropods, causing death to their hosts. When culti...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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Elsevier
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/24205 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022201125002058 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2025.108471 |
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| author | Lozano, Francisco Manfrino, Romina Guadalupe Leclerque, Andreas Schuster, Christina Rivas-Franco, Federico Gutierrez, Alejandra Concepción |
| author_browse | Gutierrez, Alejandra Concepción Leclerque, Andreas Lozano, Francisco Manfrino, Romina Guadalupe Rivas-Franco, Federico Schuster, Christina |
| author_facet | Lozano, Francisco Manfrino, Romina Guadalupe Leclerque, Andreas Schuster, Christina Rivas-Franco, Federico Gutierrez, Alejandra Concepción |
| author_sort | Lozano, Francisco |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | Blattella germanica is the most prevalent synanthropic pest and negatively impacts human health, as do the synthetic chemical insecticides used to control them. In contrast, Metarhizium spp. is a well known fungus that can infect insects and other arthropods, causing death to their hosts. When cultivated in liquid medium it produces blastospores. This propagule has the potential to be used as a biological control agent for cockroaches. The aim of this study was to identify eleven native Metarhizium strains from Argentina through molecular taxonomy, evaluate blastospores and biomass production in submerged fermentation, and assess the pathogenicity of the blastospores against adult B. germanica cockroaches. For the molecular identification of the strains, diagnostic PCR amplification was performed using previously developed primers for region markers EF1A, RPB1, RPB2, 5TEF, MzIGS3, and rIGS-ID800. In order to elucidate blastospores production, a conidia suspension was inoculated into Adamek liquid medium. Samples were taken at 48 h, 72 h, and 96 h to quantify blastospore production, and at 96 h blastospores were harvested, dry biomass was weighted and the pH of the liquid medium was assessed. The strains showed blastospores production at 96 h or earlier, except for two strains, and statistically significant maximum blastospores production was reached at 48 h for most strains. A blastospore suspension of 1E + 07 blastospore/mL was applied by spray to B. germanica adults, and mortality was assessed every two days for 20 days after application. Dead cockroaches were placed in a humid chamber and periodically observed for Metarhizium growth. Blastospores significantly reduced the survivorship of B. germanica adults. Species-discriminating diagnostic PCR and phylogenetic reconstruction was successful in assigning ten of the strains to different species within the Metarhizium PARB clade: four strains to Metarhizium brunneum and three strains each to Metarhizium hybridum and Metarhizium robertsii. One strain had previously been shown to belong to the distantly related species Metarhizium argentinense.
This study, therefore, constitutes the first description of M. hybridum from Argentina and provides the first report of direct contact application of fungal blastospores as a pathogenic approach against cockroaches, reducing B. germanica adult survivorship. |
| format | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| id | INTA24205 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| publisherStr | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA242052025-10-17T14:55:17Z Argentine Metarhizium spp. isolates: Molecular identification, blastospores production, and its pathogenicity against Blattella germanica adults Lozano, Francisco Manfrino, Romina Guadalupe Leclerque, Andreas Schuster, Christina Rivas-Franco, Federico Gutierrez, Alejandra Concepción Metarhizium Identification Blattella germanica Biological Control Identificación Control Biológico Argentina Metarhizium hybridum Blattella germanica is the most prevalent synanthropic pest and negatively impacts human health, as do the synthetic chemical insecticides used to control them. In contrast, Metarhizium spp. is a well known fungus that can infect insects and other arthropods, causing death to their hosts. When cultivated in liquid medium it produces blastospores. This propagule has the potential to be used as a biological control agent for cockroaches. The aim of this study was to identify eleven native Metarhizium strains from Argentina through molecular taxonomy, evaluate blastospores and biomass production in submerged fermentation, and assess the pathogenicity of the blastospores against adult B. germanica cockroaches. For the molecular identification of the strains, diagnostic PCR amplification was performed using previously developed primers for region markers EF1A, RPB1, RPB2, 5TEF, MzIGS3, and rIGS-ID800. In order to elucidate blastospores production, a conidia suspension was inoculated into Adamek liquid medium. Samples were taken at 48 h, 72 h, and 96 h to quantify blastospore production, and at 96 h blastospores were harvested, dry biomass was weighted and the pH of the liquid medium was assessed. The strains showed blastospores production at 96 h or earlier, except for two strains, and statistically significant maximum blastospores production was reached at 48 h for most strains. A blastospore suspension of 1E + 07 blastospore/mL was applied by spray to B. germanica adults, and mortality was assessed every two days for 20 days after application. Dead cockroaches were placed in a humid chamber and periodically observed for Metarhizium growth. Blastospores significantly reduced the survivorship of B. germanica adults. Species-discriminating diagnostic PCR and phylogenetic reconstruction was successful in assigning ten of the strains to different species within the Metarhizium PARB clade: four strains to Metarhizium brunneum and three strains each to Metarhizium hybridum and Metarhizium robertsii. One strain had previously been shown to belong to the distantly related species Metarhizium argentinense. This study, therefore, constitutes the first description of M. hybridum from Argentina and provides the first report of direct contact application of fungal blastospores as a pathogenic approach against cockroaches, reducing B. germanica adult survivorship. EEA Rafaela Fil: Lozano, Francisco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; Argentina Fil: Lozano, Francisco. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; Argentina Fil: Lozano, Francisco. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina Fil: Manfrino, Romina Guadalupe. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela. Instituto de Investigación de la Cadena Láctea (IdICaL); Argentina Fil: Manfrino, Romina Guadalupe. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigación de la Cadena Láctea (IDICAL); Argentina Fil: Leclerque, Andreas. Technische Universität Darmstadt. Department of Biology. Insect-Associated Microorganisms and Microbial Control; Alemania Fil: Schuster, Christina. Technische Universität Darmstadt. Department of Biology. Insect-Associated Microorganisms and Microbial Control; Alemania Fil: Rivas-Franco, Federico. Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA). Estación Las Brujas; Uruguay Fil: Gutierrez, Alejandra Concepción. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; Argentina Fil: Gutierrez, Alejandra Concepción. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; Argentina 2025-10-17T14:53:23Z 2025-10-17T14:53:23Z 2026-02 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/24205 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022201125002058 0022-2011 1096-0805 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2025.108471 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Elsevier Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 214 : 108471. (February 2026) |
| spellingShingle | Metarhizium Identification Blattella germanica Biological Control Identificación Control Biológico Argentina Metarhizium hybridum Lozano, Francisco Manfrino, Romina Guadalupe Leclerque, Andreas Schuster, Christina Rivas-Franco, Federico Gutierrez, Alejandra Concepción Argentine Metarhizium spp. isolates: Molecular identification, blastospores production, and its pathogenicity against Blattella germanica adults |
| title | Argentine Metarhizium spp. isolates: Molecular identification, blastospores production, and its pathogenicity against Blattella germanica adults |
| title_full | Argentine Metarhizium spp. isolates: Molecular identification, blastospores production, and its pathogenicity against Blattella germanica adults |
| title_fullStr | Argentine Metarhizium spp. isolates: Molecular identification, blastospores production, and its pathogenicity against Blattella germanica adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | Argentine Metarhizium spp. isolates: Molecular identification, blastospores production, and its pathogenicity against Blattella germanica adults |
| title_short | Argentine Metarhizium spp. isolates: Molecular identification, blastospores production, and its pathogenicity against Blattella germanica adults |
| title_sort | argentine metarhizium spp isolates molecular identification blastospores production and its pathogenicity against blattella germanica adults |
| topic | Metarhizium Identification Blattella germanica Biological Control Identificación Control Biológico Argentina Metarhizium hybridum |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/24205 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022201125002058 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2025.108471 |
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