Identification and preliminary evaluation of viriditoxin, a metabolite of Paecilomyces varioti, as an insecticide for sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina (Wied.)

Solvent extracts of cultures of the fungus Paecilomyces varioti are toxic to sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Different components of the culture extracts were isolated and bioassayed with L. cuprina. The component with most toxicity was purified and identified from its proton magnetic resonance spectrum as viriditoxin, a known antibiotic metabolite of the fungus. The insecticidal properties of viriditoxin were then evaluated. Mean LCso values for first instar larvae of organophosphate susceptible and resistant strains of L. cuprina were 7.5 and 8.4 ppm respectively. Pilot implant trials in sheep demonstrated that the compound provided protection for 9-17 weeks against both strains of L. cuprina. No adverse effects on the trial sheep were detected.

Lignocellulose degradation and humus modification by the fungus Paecilomyces inflatus

Composting is the biological conversion of solid organic waste into usable end products such as fertilizers, substrates for mushroom production and biogas. Although composts are highly variable in their bulk composition, composting material is generally based on lignocellulose compounds derived from agricultural, forestry, fruit and vegetable processing, household and municipal wastes. Lignocellulose is very recalcitrant; however it is rich and abundant source of carbon and energy. Therefore lignocellulose degradation is essential for maintaining the global carbon cycle. In compost, the active component involved in the biodegradation and conversion processes is the resident microbial population, among which microfungi play a very important role. In composting pile the warm, humid, and aerobic environment provides the optimal conditions for their development. Microfungi use many carbon sources, including lignocellulosic polymers and can survive in extreme conditions. Typically microfungi are responsible for compost maturation. In order to improve the composting process, more information is needed about the microbial degradation process. Better knowledge on the lignocellulose degradation by microfungi could be used to optimize the composting process. Thus, this thesis focused on lignocellulose and humic compounds degradation by a microfungus Paecilomyces inflatus, which belongs to a flora of common microbial compost, soil and decaying plant remains. It is a very common species in Europe, North America and Asia. The lignocellulose and humic compounds degradation was studied using several methods including measurements of carbon release from 14C-labelled compounds, such as synthetic lignin (dehydrogenative polymer, DHP) and humic acids, as well as by determination of fibre composition using chemical detergents and sulphuric acid. Spectrophotometric enzyme assays were conducted to detect extracellular lignocellulose-degrading hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes. Paecilomyces inflatus secreted clearly extracellular laccase to the culture media. Laccase was involved in the degradation process of lignin and humic acids. In compost P. inflatus mineralised 6-10% of 14C-labelled DHP into carbon dioxide. About 15% of labelled DHP was converted into water-soluble compounds. Also humic acids were partly mineralised and converted into water-soluble material, such as low-molecular mass fulvic acid-like compounds. Although laccase activity in aromatics-rich compost media clearly is connected with the degradation process of lignin and lignin-like compounds, it may preferentially effect the polymerisation and/or detoxification of such aromatic compounds. P. inflatus can degrade lignin and carbohydrates also while growing in straw and in wood. The cellulolytic enzyme system includes endoglucanase and β-glucosidase. In P. inflatus the secretion of these enzymes was stimulated by low-molecular-weight aromatics, such as soil humic acid and veratric acid. When strains of P. inflatus from different ecophysiological origins were compared, indications were found that specific adaptation strategies needed for lignocellulosics degradation may operate in P. inflatus. The degradative features of these microfungi are on relevance for lignocellulose decomposition in nature, especially in soil and compost environments, where basidiomycetes are not established. The results of this study may help to understand, control and better design the process of plant polymer conversion in compost environment, with a special emphasis on the role of ubiquitous microfungi.

Purification and characterization of endo-1,4-β-xylanase from Paecilomyces varioti Bainier

An endo-xylanase (1,4-β-d-xylanxylanohydrolase EC 3.2.1.8) was isolated from the culture filtrate of Paecilomyces varioti Bainier. The enzyme was purified 3.2 fold with a 60% yield by gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography. The purified enzyme had a molecular weight of 25,000 with a sedimentation coefficient of 2.2 S. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was 3.9. The enzyme was obtained in crystalline form. The optimum pH range was 5.5–7.0 and the temperature, 65°C. The Michaelis constant was 2.5 mg larchwood xylan/ml. The enzyme was found to degrade xylan by an endo mechanism producing arabinose, xylobiose, xylo- and arabinosylxylo-oligosaccharides, during the initial stages of hydrolysis. On prolonged incubation, xylotriose, arabinosylxylotriose and xylobiose were the major products with traces of xylotetraose, xylose and arabinose.

Evaluación de Paecilomyces lilacinus como controlador biológico de Meloidogyne exigua en el cultivo del café en la IV región

Con el objetivo de evaluar la efectividad del hongo paecilomyces lilacinus como controlador biológico de embriones de meloidogyne exigua y compararlo con el control químico de carbufuran en vivero de café (coffea arábica l.), se realizó entre los meses de abril a diciembre de 1986 en la estación experimental jardín botánico de masatepe, departamento de Carazo, la evaluación de seis tratamiento. El experimento se efectuó en una parcela de 37m2, con cinco repeticiones de un diseño experimental en bloques completo al azar. Se evaluaron las cuatro plantas centrales de cada parcela, en total 120 plantas. El manejo del experimento se basó en la técnica de reaislamiento, reproducción y aplicación de paecilomyces lilacinus del Dr. Parviz jalata (18) y siguiendo las técnica del cultivo del café utilizada en la lV región. Los tratamiento comparados; 3 dosis de arroz cubiertos de colonias de paecilomyces lilacinus; 15 gramos, 10gramos y 5 gramos, respectivamente, furadan 5G a la dosis de 5 gramos y todos los anteriores, incluyendo el testigo relativo con una aplicación de 1000 larvas de meloidogyne exigua por cada planta y un testigo absoluto; todos en bolsas de polietileno con capacidad de 2 kilos de suelo. Los tratamientos que presentaron mejor control de la población nematologica son paecilomyces lilacinus a razón de 5g. y furadan 5G a razón de 5g. y el testigo absoluto. En condiciones de laboratorio se comprobó la efectividad del hongo, donde la agresividad para destruir embriones de meloidogyne exigua fue directamente proporcional a la mayor concentración de esporas del hongo (1 *10 esporas/ml) y al tiempo de exposición a este

Water and Temperature Relations of Growth of the Entomogenous Fungi Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, and Paecilomyces farinosus

The effects of temperature (5-50°C), water availability (0.998-0.88 water activity, aw), and aw × temperature interactions (15-45°C) on growth of three entomogenous fungi, Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, and Paecilomyces farinosus, were evaluated on a Sabouraud dextrose-based medium modified with the ionic solute KCl, the non-ionic solute glycerol, and an inert solute, polyethylene glycol (PEG) 600. The temperature ranges for growth of B. bassiana, M. anisopliae, and P. farinosus were 5-30, 5-40, and 5-30°C, and optimum growth temperatures were 25, 30, and 20°C, respectively. All three species grew over a similar aw range (0.90-0.998) at optimum temperatures for growth. However, there were significant interspecies variations in growth rates on media modified with each of the three aw-modifying solutes. Growth aw optima ranged between 0.99 and 0.97 on KCl-, glycerol-, and PEG 600-modified media for M. anisopliae and P. farinosus. B. bassiana grew optimally at 0.998 aw, regardless of aw. Comprehensive two-dimensional profiles of aw × temperature relations for growth of these three species were constructed for the first time. The results are discussed in relation to the environmental limits that determine efficacy of entomogenous fungi as biocontrol agents in nature. © 1999 Academic Press.

Producción de esporas de Paecilomyces fumosoroseus en diferentes medios de cultivo líquidos

Tesis (Maestría en Ciencias con Especialidad en Microbiología) UANL

Destino del hongo Entomopatógeno Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (Wize &Brawn) (Deuteromycotina: Hyphomycetes) en suelos agrícolas

Tesis (Maestría en Ciencias con Especialidad en Microbiología) UANL

Efecto de las condiciones operacionales de fermentación sobre la producción de Paecilomyces Fumosoroseus cepa 612 en cultivo sumergido

Tesis (Doctorado en Ciencias con Especialidad en Biotecnología) UANL

Producción en diferentes medios de cultivo y sobrevivencia de blastosporas de Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (Wize) Brown & Smith (Deuteromycotina: Hyphomycetes)

Tesis (Doctorado en Ciencias con Especialidad en Biotecnología) UANL

Secado y formulación de blastoesporas de Paecilomyces fumosoroseus(Hyphomycetes) producidos en dos medios líquidos diferentes

Tesis (Doctorado en Ciencias con Especialidad en Biotecnología) UANL

Cepa mutante de Paecilomyces fumosoroseus sobreproductora de quitinasas con mayor virulencia contra mosquita blanca (Bemisia tabaci) y falso mediador de la col (Trichoplusia ni)

Tesis (Doctor en Ciencias con Especialidad en Biotecnología) UANL

Producción de Paecilomyces fumosoroseus Brown & Smith y evaluación de su efectividad biólogica contra Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring en cultivo de algodón Gossypium hirsutum L.

Tesis (Doctorado en Ciencias con especialidad en Biotecnología) U.A.N.L., Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, 2007.

Efectos de micotoxicidad de fungicidas sobre formulados de los entomopatogenos Paecilomyces fumosoroseus y Beauveria bassiana utilizados contra la mosquita blanca (Bemisia argentifolii).

Tesis (Doctor en Ciencias con Especialidad en Biotecnología) UANL, 2011.

The combined effect of the application of a biocontrol agent Paecilomyces lilacinus, with various practices for the control of root-knot nematodes

The effectiveness of a formulated product containing spores of the naturally occurring fungus Paecilomyces lilacinus, strain 251, was evaluated against root-knot nematodes in pot and greenhouse experiments. Decrease of second-stage juveniles hatching from eggs was recorded by using the bio-nematicide at a dose of 4 kg ha(-1), while a further decrease was recorded by doubling the dose. However, the mortality rate decreased by increasing the inoculum level. Application of P. lilacinus and Bacillus firmus, singly or together in pot experiments, provided effective control of second-stage juveniles, eggs or egg masses of root-knot nematodes. In a greenhouse experiment, the bio-nematicide was evaluated for its potential to control root-knot nematodes either as a stand-alone method or in combination with soil solarization. Soil was solarized for 15 d and the bio-nematicide was applied just after the removal of the plastic sheet. Soil solarization for 15 d either alone or combined with the use of P. lilacinus did not provide satisfactory control of root-knot nematodes. The use of oxamyl, which was applied 2 weeks before and during transplanting, gave results similar to the commercial product containing P. lilacinus but superior to soil solarization. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.