Identification of a parasitic Lecanicillium of tea lesser leafhopper and optimization of sporulation conditions

Abstract:

[Objective] The objectives are to identify a parasitic Lecanicillium W. Gams & Zare of tea lesser leafhopper and optimize sporulation culture condition of this fungus. [Methods] The comparison of morphological characteristics and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis were used for identification of the fungal species. Single factor test and orthogonal test were carried out to optimize sporulation conditions. [Results] According to the morphological characterization and phylogenetic tree, the fungus was identified as Lecanicillium attenuatum Zare & W. Gams. The optimum condition of or sporulation is: peptone 2%, maltose 1%, silkworm pupa powder 1%, potassium chloride 0.05%, dipotassium phosphate 0.1%, magnesium sulfate 0.05%, agar 1.5%, distilled water 1 000 mL, 25 ℃. [Conclusion] A parasitic Lecanicillium of tea lesser leafhopper is identified as L. attenuatum Zare & W. Gams, a known species in China. The optimum condition of sporulation was providedons, which could provide the preliminary basis for applying to the tea lesser leafhopper of the biological control.