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Research Project: Improved Surveillance and Control of Stable Flies, House Flies, and Other Filth Flies

Location: Mosquito and Fly Research

Title: Beauveria bassiana culturing and harvesting for bioassays with house flies

Author
item Johnson, Dana
item White, Roxie
item PEREIRA, ROBERTO - University Of Florida
item Geden, Christopher - Chris

Submitted to: Journal of Insect Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/22/2020
Publication Date: 11/2/2020
Citation: Johnson, D.M., White, R.L., Pereira, R.M., Geden, C.J. 2020. Beauveria bassiana culturing and harvesting for bioassays with house flies. Journal of Insect Science. 20(6):1–7. https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieaa072.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieaa072

Interpretive Summary: The fungal pathogen Beauveria bassiana is an important biological pesticide against a wide range wide of insect pests, including house flies. There are many strains of B. bassiana, and researchers often need to get new strains into culture and compare them with known varieties. The methods for the various stages of fungal isolation, growth, harvest, storage, and use in bioassays are scattered in different places in the scientific literature. In this paper, researchers at USDA-ARS-ARS in Gainesville (Florida) present a streamlined protocol of "how to" instructions for each step of the process. Examples of different types of bioassays are discussed, and data is presented showing the kinds of results that can be expected. The paper will be a useful resource for researchers who are beginning to work with this important pathogen.

Technical Abstract: Entomopathogenic fungi such as Beauveria bassiana have been widely studied against a wide range of arthropod pests, including many of medical and veterinary importance. New investigators must sort through a wide array of published methods for the production, harvest, storage and bioassay methods for this pathogen. Simplified methods are presented for production of conidia using SDY agar plates and two conidial harvesting methods are described. Dry-harvesting yields conidia that ready to incorporate into dusts and food baits, but the product includes mycelial debris that can hamper quantification and introduces variable amounts of unwanted bulk into the product. Wet-harvesting produces a clean product that is immediately ready for testing in liquid formulations. Examples of bioassays with house flies are presented that include topical applications of conidia placed of the dorsal thorax and treated-surface assays conducted by applying conidial suspensions to filter paper disks.