Wang Chengshu, St Leger Raymond J
Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
Nat Biotechnol. 2007 Dec;25(12):1455-6. doi: 10.1038/nbt1357. Epub 2007 Nov 11.
The low virulence of the insecticidal fungus Metarhizium anisopliae has stymied its widespread use in controlling insect pests. We show that high-level expression of an insect-specific neurotoxin from the scorpion Androctonus australis in hemolymph by M. anisopliae increases fungal toxicity 22-fold against tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) caterpillars and ninefold against adult yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) without compromising host specificity. Prelethal effects include reduced mobility and feeding of the insects targeted.
杀虫真菌绿僵菌的低毒力阻碍了其在害虫防治中的广泛应用。我们发现，绿僵菌在血淋巴中高水平表达来自澳大利亚杀人蝎的一种昆虫特异性神经毒素，可使真菌对烟草天蛾幼虫的毒性提高22倍，对成年黄热病蚊子的毒性提高9倍，同时不影响宿主特异性。致死前效应包括目标昆虫的活动能力和取食减少。
