Abstract
This study was sought to devise pellets containing inorganic materials and microsclerotia of Metarhizium anisopliae strain IP 119 for biological control of Rhipicephalus microplus, the most economically important tick in Brazilian cattle industry. In addition, we evaluated the storage stability of the pellets, their tolerance to ultraviolet radiation (UV-B), and efficacy against ticks under laboratory conditions. Fungal microsclerotia were produced by liquid culture fermentation and mixed with pre-selected inorganic matrices: vermiculite powder, diatomaceous earth, and colloidal silicon dioxide (78:20:2, w/w/w). The microsclerotial pellets were then prepared by a two-stage process involving extrusion and spheronization. Pellet size averaged 525.53 ± 7.74 μm, with a sphericity index of 0.72 ± 0.01, while biomass constituents did not affect the wet mass properties. Conidial production from microsclerotial pellets upon rehydration ranged from 1.85 × 109 to 1.97 × 109 conidia g−1 with conidial viability ≥ 93%. Conidial production from pellets stored at 4 °C was invariable for up to 21 days. Unformulated microsclerotia and microsclerotial pellets were extremely tolerant to UV-B compared with aerial conidia. Engorged tick females exposed to conidia from sporulated pellets applied to soil samples and upon optimal rehydration exhibited shorter oviposition time length, shorter life span, and reduced number of hatched larvae. In summary, microsclerotial pellets of M. anisopliae IP 119 effectively suppressed R. microplus and showed outstanding UV-B tolerance in laboratory tests. Prospectively, this formulation prototype is promising for targeting the non-parasitic stage of this tick on outdoor pasture fields and may offer a novel mycoacaricide for its sustainable management.
Key points
• Pellets with microsclerotia and inorganic materials are innovative for tick control.
• Metarhizium microsclerotia show superior UV-B tolerance in relation to conidia.
• Pellets of Metarhizium microsclerotia produce infective conidia against ticks.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding authors on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Prof. Dr. Eliana M. Lima, coordinator of FARMATEC-UFG, for providing the facilities to manufacture the pellets. We also thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior of Brazil (CAPES) of Brazil for providing MSc scholarships for TR Santos, FRS Paixão, and AML Catão, and PhD scholarship for ER Muniz and CS Ribeiro-Silva.
Funding
This study was funded by (1) Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior of Brazil (CAPES) of Brazil for providing MSc scholarships for TR Santos, FRS Paixão, and AML Catão, and PhD scholarship for ER Muniz and CS Ribeiro-Silva; (2) Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) of Brazil (431928/2016-9). CNPq also provided the grants PQ 308850/2015-7 and PQ 306319/2018-7 for ÉKK Fernandes, and PQ 311672/2016-7 for CL.
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GMM, CL, ÉKKF, and RNM conceived and designed research. TRS, FRSP, ALP, ERM, and CSR conducted experiments. TRS, ERM, and GMM analyzed data. ÉKKF, CL, SFT, and RNM acquired funding. GMM, ÉKKF, and RNM supervised the project. TRS, ERM, GMM, ÉKKF, and RNM wrote the manuscript. SFT critically revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
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Santos, T.R., da Paixão, F.R.S., Catão, A.M.L. et al. Inorganic pellets containing microsclerotia of Metarhizium anisopliae: a new technological platform for the biological control of the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 105, 5001–5012 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-021-11372-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-021-11372-1