Screening of entomopathogenic fungi for their potential as beneficial endophytes in plants

Due to insect attack, reducing the quality of the fruits and transmitting plant pathogens, horticulture sector suffers from significant losses worldwide. The demand for more ecological alternatives to synthetic chemicals has high priority in biological control of plant pests and pathogens in recent years. Among these, endophytic entomopathogenic fungi (EEMPF) colonize plant tissues, protecting the plants against insect attack is an emerging hope. In this project we are trying to isolate potential EEMPFs against the plant pest Bradysia difformis (fungus gnat) which poses a serious problem in pot cultures under glass and especially highly attracted to peat free substrates.

The fungal strains including Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium flavoviride, Mucor hiemalis and Niesslia tinuis from the German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell culture (DSMZ) were tested for entomopathogenic activity against B. difformis and for their ability to colonize Petunia axillaris, Petunia exserta and Ocimum basilicum plants. Also, several soil samples were analyzed for the presence of entomopathogenic fungi against B. difformis.

The preliminary findings indicate that the strain M. flavoviride can potentially act as an entomopathogenic fungi against B. difformis with an ability to colonize petunia and basil with no significant impact on plant development. The reproducibility of the results in terms of entomopathogenic activity was verified and confirmed through experimentation involving different concentrations of M. flavoviride spore suspension against B. difformis. The project is in progress, screening the new fungal isolates from various soil samples for their entomopathogenic activity against B. difformis and their ability to colonize plants.