Nematophagous fungus Esteya vermicola

Details Nematophagous fungus Esteya vermicola Nematophagous fungus Esteya vermicola

1999-02-11

2001-01-02

Marx, Irene (Department: 1651)

Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology

Micro-organism, per se ; compositions thereof; proces of...

Fungi

Utility Patent

active

06168947

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The wilting disease of pine trees caused by the pinewood nematode,
Bursaphelenchus xylophilus
is widespread in eastern Asia. According to an estimation made in Japan in 1981, the annual loss of native pine stands, e.g., Japanese red pine,
Pinus densiflora
Sleb. & Zucc., Japanese black pine,
P. thunbergii
Parl. and Luchu pine,
P. luchuensis
Mayr., was approximately 2 million m
3
, with the death of nearly 10 million trees. In Japan, the first occurrence of pine wilt disease was documented in 1905 in Nagasaki, Kyushu. At that time, the cause of this devastating disease of pine trees was not understood. Inoculation experiments demonstrated that the pinewood nematode
B. xylophilus
was the causal agent responsible for the epidemics of pine tree wilt. Further studies have determined the disease cycle of the pine tree wilt.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention features a new fungus which has high infectivity toward a stem, leaf, bud, or flower nematode and is characterized by the production of a first type of conidiophores, conidiogenous cells, and conidia and a second type of conidiophores, conidiogenous cells, and conidia when grown in vivo or on a solid medium.
More specifically, the first type of conidiophores is macronematous, mononematous, simple, erect, and broadly ampulliform; the first type of conidiogenous cells is integrated, phialidic, and rarely percurrent; and the first type of the conidia is solitary, one-celled, asymmetrically ellipsoidal, lunate, and concave; and the second type of conidiophore is macronematous, mononematous, simple or branched, cylindrical, subulate, and elongate; the second type of conidiogenous cells is integrated, phialidic, enteroblastic, terminal or intercalary, laterally proliferic, and indeterminate; and the second type of conidia is solitary, one-celled, bacilloid, and cylindrical. A fungus of this invention can be further characterized by the production of blastospores when grown in liquid broth.
More detailed features of the two types of cells include: The first type of conidiophores is macronematous, mononematous, simple, erect, broadly ampulliform, tapering upward into a thin neck, subhyaline to greyish green, and smooth, roughened to very roughened; the first type of conidiogenous cells is integrated, phialidic, and rarely percurrent; the first type of conidia is solitary, one-celled, asymmetrically ellipsoidal, lunate, concave, hyaline, smooth-walled, and adhesive, and ends moderately apiculate and contains an endospore-like structure; the second type of conidiophores is macronematous, mononematous, simple or branched, erect, cylindrical, subulate, septate, hyaline, subhyaline to greyish green, smooth, roughened to very roughened, and is somewhat swollen at the base; the second type of conidiogenous cells is integrated, phialidic, enteroblastic, terminal or intercalary, laterally proliferic, and indeterminate; and the second type of conidia is solitary, slimy, one-celled, bacilloid, cylindrical, hyaline, smooth, and non-adhesive, and often aggregates at the apex forming false head.
The fungus of this invention can infect nematodes such as pinewood nematode
B. xylophilus
; rice white tip nematode
Aphelenchoides besseyi
; pseudopinewood nematode
Bursaphelenchus mucronatus
; rice stem nematode
Ditylenchus angustus
; strawberry, wheat, corn, tobacco, tomato, and sugarbeet stem nematode
Ditylenchus dipsacis
; red ring nematode of coconut palms
Phadinaphelenchus cocophilus
; strawberry nematode
Aphelenchoides fragariae
or
Aphelenchoides ritzemabos
; and other morphologically or habitually closely related stem, leaf, bud and flower nematodes.
A fungus of this invention, a strain of
Esteya vermicola
, was deposited with the American Type Culture Collection 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas Va. 20110-2209, U.S.A., on Jan. 29, 1999 and assigned accession number 74485. It was also deposited with the Culture Collection and Research Center, Taiwan, on Feb. 4, 1999 (accession number CCRC 930028). Contemplated within the scope of this invention are mutants derived from the deposited strain (obtained by conventional or recombinant methods), as well as any fungi which have identifying characteristics of the deposited strain.
All fungi of this invention, including the deposited strain and its mutants, are nematophagous and can be used as biocontrol agents against nematodes. Other features of the present invention will be apparent from the following drawings, detailed description, and the appending claims.


REFERENCES:
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patent: 0 494 592 A1 (1992-07-01), None
patent: WO 94/28725 (1994-12-01), None
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Mamiya, “Pathology of the Pine Wilt Diseas Caused byBursaphelenchus xylophilus”, Ann. Rev. Phytopathol., 21:201-220, 1983.
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Yan et al., “Assessment of Philophora species based on ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacers and morphology”, Mycologia 87(1):72-83, 1995.
Patent Abstracts of Japan vol. 007, No. 95 (C-163), Aug. 23, 1983, JP 58 023611 A (Tomoe Kagaku Kogyo KK), Feb. 12, 1983, abstract.

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