Journal
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
Volume 99, Issue 20, Pages 8611-8618Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00253-015-6767-y
Keywords
Acid trehalase; Metarhizium acridum; Nutrient usage; Growth; Virulence
Categories
Funding
- High Technology Research and Development Program (863) of China [2011AA10A204]
- Natural Science Foundation Project of CQ CSTC [CSTC2012 JJB 80002]
- Natural Science Foundation of China [31071730]
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Entomopathogenic fungi proliferate in insect hemolymph by using host nutrients after penetrating the cuticle. To improve the virulence of the locust specific fungus, Metarhizium acridum, we genetically modified the fungus to overexpress ATM1, an endogenous hydrolase of trehalose, which is the main carbon source in insect hemolymph. Compared with the wild-type strain, Metarhizium acridum overexpressing ATM1 gene secreted more acid trehalase into locust hemolymph. The trehalose concentrations in locusts infected with the ATM1-overexpressing strain were 5.5 and 6.1 mmol/l, lower than that in locusts infected with the wild-type strain at 3 and 5 days post-inoculation, representing 44.5 and 60.7 % reduction, respectively. Correspondingly, overexpressing ATM1 accelerated the growth of Metarhizium acridum in host hemolymph, and the dose causing 50 % mortality (LD50) of the ATM1-overexpressing strain was reduced by 8.3-fold compared with the wild-type strain, suggesting that increasing the utilization of host nutrients by pathogens could be a promising way to improve the virulence of biopesticides based on parasites of pests.
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