
David Shapiro-IlanUnited States Department of Agriculture | USDA · Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
David Shapiro-Ilan
Ph.D.
Focus is on invertebrate pathology and microbial control, especially entomopathogenic nematodes and fungi.
About
350
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Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (350)
Multigene, genus-wide phylogenetic studies have uncovered the limited taxonomic resolution power of commonly used gene markers, particularly of rRNA genes, to discriminate closely related species of the nematode genus Heterorhabditis. In addition, conflicting tree topologies are often obtained using the different gene markers, which limits our unde...
Rapid identification and assessment of animal health are critical for livestock productivity, especially for small ruminants like goats, which are highly susceptible to blood-feeding gastrointestinal nematodes, such as Haemonchus contortus. This study aimed to establish proof of concept for using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) as a non-inva...
BACKGROUND
Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are recognized as effective biocontrol agents against various soil‐dwelling pests. However, their efficacy in managing leaf pests is often constrained by factors such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation and desiccation.
RESULTS
We evaluated the protective effects of five plant‐derived substances, including gr...
Pecan is a valuable nut crop cultivated in the southeastern US. Among the major yield-limiting factors in the region is scab, caused by the plant pathogenic fungus Venturia effusa. Managing scab in tall trees (15 to 25+ m) in pecan orchards is challenging due to the limitations of getting sufficient spray coverage throughout the canopy. We explored...
In the southern United States, corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), and soybean looper, Chrysodeixis includens (Walker) are economically important crop pests. Although Bt crops initially provided effective control of target pests such as H. zea , many insect pests have developed resistance to these Bt crops. Alternative approaches are needed, in...
The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae), is a destructive and voracious pest of palm species worldwide. Due to environmental and regulatory concerns, ecologically safe alternatives to synthetic chemical insecticides are needed to manage this cryptic insect species. Entomopathogenic fungi have the...
Maintenance of an aggregated population structure implies within-species communication. In mixed-species environments, species-specific aggregations may reduce interspecific competition and promote coexistence. We studied whether movement and aggregation behavior of three entomopathogenic nematode species changed when isolated, as compared to mixed...
Consistent efficacy is required for entomopathogenic nematodes to gain wider adoption as biocontrol agents. Recently, we demonstrated that when exposed to nematode pheromone blends, entomopathogenic nematodes showed increased dispersal, infectivity, and efficacy under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Prior to this study, the impact of entomopa...
Entomopathogenic nematodes have been mass produced in vitro in a monoxenic system using two different
approaches: the sponge (polyurethane) process soaked in symbiotic bacterial culture, and by liquid fermentation
conducted in submerged bacterial culture. Another approach to produce nematodes under in vitro conditions is
the biphasic process, which...
Entomopathogenic nematodes in the genera Steinernema and Heterorhabditis, produced through in vitro or in vivo methods, are effective insect biological control agents. In vivo production yields good-quality nematodes, but the costs associated with obtaining insects and labor make this production system have a low economy of scale. Conceivably, if g...
Previously, Cordyceps javanica Wf GA17, a causing agent of whitefly epizootics in southern Georgia, demonstrated superior temperature tolerance and higher virulence against the whitefly Bemisia tabaci than commercial strains in the laboratory. The post-application persistence and efficacy of this fungus against B. tabaci were compared with that of...
During harvest pecan nuts are at risk of contamination with foodborne pathogens from extended contact with the ground. The objective of this study was to determine the potential transfer of Escherichia coli and Salmonella from the ground to in-shell pecans during the harvesting process. Plots (2 m²) were sprayed with 1 L of a rifampicin (rif) resis...
BACKGROUND
Two consecutive field trials using a blend of entomopathogens in combination with a new chemistry insecticide were conducted to determine treatment effects on onion thrips (Thrips tabaci Lindeman) populations, crop damage, plant development, crop yield and impact on natural enemies. Products were tested in an onion cropping system and in...
Bioassays involving newly hatched larval insects can be limited by the larvae's feeding state. Assays attempting to monitor mortality effects can be negatively affected by starvation effects on the larvae. Neonate western corn rootworms have significant reductions in viability if not provided food within 24 h post hatch. The recent development of a...
Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) in the genera Heterorhabditis and Steinernema are obligate parasites of insects in nature. The pathogenicity of these nematodes is facilitated by symbiotic bacteria that are carried in the nematode’s gut prior to entering an insect host. More than a dozen EPN species have been commercialized for use in biological p...
Aims
Negative interactions in the rhizosphere between entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) and plant-parasitic nematodes, such as root-knot nematodes (RKNs), have been documented over the past two decades but the mechanisms and dynamics of such interactions remain largely elusive.
Methods
Here, we evaluated the effect of the inoculation position of t...
Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are susceptible to abiotic environmental factors including ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which affects the survival and efficacy. This study evaluated nanoparticle (NP) formulations for protecting Steinernema carpocapsae infective juveniles (IJs) from UV radiation. First, silica-NH2 NPs at oil-to-water ratios of 2:8,...
The peachtree borer, Synanthedon exitiosa (Say) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), is a major pest of stone fruits including the peach Prunus persica (L.) Batsch. The entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema carpocapsae, was previously shown to be an effective tool for controlling S. exitiosa. In orchards where irrigation is not available, a sprayable gel (Bar...
This study presents a new eco-friendly formulation of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) based on individual coating of EPNs with titanium dioxide (TiO 2) nanoparticles (NPs) and mineral oil via oil-in-water Pickering emulsions. Mineral oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by amine-functionalized titanium dioxide (TiO 2-NH 2) particles were prepared. 4...
Wireworms, the soil-borne larvae of click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae), are important crop pests throughout the world. In the eastern U.S., Melanotus communis larvae attack grain, root/ tuber, and vegetable crops. Our objectives were to characterize the pathogenicity and virulence of fungal and nematode entomopathogens on M. communis wireworms,...
Plants attacked by insects commonly mobilize various defense mechanisms, including the biosynthesis and release of so-called herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs). Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) can be attracted to these belowground HIPVs, which can enhance biocontrol services from EPNs. However, recent research has also demonstrated that HI...
The peanut burrower bug, Pangaeus bilineatus, is a major crop pest of peanuts in the southern United States. Peanuts infested by P. bilineatus exhibit weight and quality losses and could be discounted up to 50% of the prevailing price. Control of this pest is difficult because it attacks mature peanut pods underground, thus rendering foliar pestici...
BACKGROUND
The peanut burrower bug, Pangaeus bilineatus is a major crop pest of peanuts in the southern United States. Peanuts infested by P. bilineatus exhibit weight and quality losses and could be discounted by ≤50% of the prevailing market price. Control of this pest is difficult because it attacks peanut pods underground, thus rendering foliar...
Field trials were conducted on the efficacy of different control options against Helicoverpa armigera on tomato. We evaluated and compared pest control, safety to natural enemies, crop yield and economics of application for various treatments including: a mycoinsecticide based on Beauveria bassiana; a baculovirus, H. armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (...
Toxicity of the metabolites of two bacteria, Photorhabdus luminescens and Xenorhabdus bovienii, symbionts of entomopathogenic nematodes, were tested in the laboratory against the multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis, the black pecan aphid, Melanocallis caryaefoliae, and the blackmargined aphid, Monellia caryella. Bacterial broth prepar...
Steinernema populi n. sp. was recovered by baiting from beneath poplar trees in China. Morphological and molecular features provided evidence for placing the new species into the Kushidai clade. The new species is characterized by the following morphological features: third-stage infective juveniles (IJ) with a body length of 1095 (973–1172) μm, a...
Aims Negative interactions in the rhizosphere between entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) and plant-parasitic nematodes, such as root-knot nematodes (RKNs), have been documented over the past two decades but the mechanisms and dynamics of such interactions remain largely elusive.
Methods Here, we evaluated the effect of inoculation position of two EP...
BACKGROUND
The peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata, and the Oriental fruit fly, B. dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae), are economically important fruit fly species in various regions of the world. We evaluated the effects of separate and combined applications of the entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) Beauveria bassiana (WG‐18) and Metarhizium anisopliae (WG‐...
Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are obligated parasites known to have aggregated movement. However, communication among individuals in the form of trail-following has not been shown by nematodes of any kind. We found that the following behavior is context-dependent; the following behavior among conspecific EPNs was significantly increased when th...
A newly discovered entomopathogenic fungus Cordyceps javanica (Friedrichs & Bally) Samson & Hywel-Jones (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) strain Wf GA17 was compared with the commercial Cordyceps fumosorosea Wize (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) Apopka 97 strain for liquid-culture production, formulation, insecticidal efficacy, and storage stability und...
Broad spectrum chemical pesticides are harmful to humans and other nontarget organisms. Biological control, which entails the use of natural enemies, is a viable alternative. Isolation, identification, and application of biocontrol agents such as the entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs), Steinernema and Heterorhabditis and their symbiotic bacteria, Xe...
We used a phylogenetic framework to examine the relationship between entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) vertical dispersal and infectivity when EPNs are exposed to a mixture of compounds found in late-stage EPN-infected insect cadavers. EPNs from five phylogenetically close and distant species (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, H. georgiana, H. megidis,...
The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1), is a major insect pest on vegetable crops worldwide. Enormous economic losses result from direct and indirect plant damage caused by MEAM1. Biological control using entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) may be an effective alternative strategy against MEAM1 because this pest has...
Aggregated movement and population structure are known in entomopathogenic nematodes, which are obligate insect parasites. Aggregation behavior in the absence of external stimuli suggests communication among individuals, often in the form of trail-following, which has not been shown by nematodes of any kind. Interactions among individuals are an es...
In Georgia, pecans are commercially grown in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain ecoregions which are characterized by sandy-loam, sandy, and/or clay soils. If well-drained, these soils are suitable for pecan production, but the soil characteristics differ enough between ecoregions in which the plant-parasitic nematode (PPN) communities could differ sub...
Fruit flies including Bactrocera zonata and B. dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) are considered major pests of orchard systems in Pakistan. This study evaluated the laboratory virulence, sub-lethal effects, horizontal transmission, greenhouse, and field-cage efficacy of locally isolated entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) against B. zonata and B. dorsalis....
The pupal soil cell of the pecan weevil, Curculio caryae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), was reported previously to exhibit antibiosis to an entomopathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana. The objectives of this study were to examine 1) if the antimicrobial effect occurs in other insects that form pupal cells, 2) whether the effect extends to plant patho...
Soil pH affects the availability of nutrients, which impacts plant growth and development. Similarly, soil pH may also influence microorganisms in the soil, either beneficial or nonbeneficial. One such group of beneficial microorganisms is entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN), parasites of soil-inhabiting insects. Entomopathogenic nematodes have a numb...
Tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca (Hinds) is an economically significant pest. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) have shown promise as biocontrol agents against certain thrips species, but they have not been explored for suppression of F. fusca. We investigated the potential of EPNs to manage F. fusca by conducting three different bioassays: 1) a...
We evaluated ten different species of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, H. megidis, H. georgiana, H. floridensis, H. indica, Steinernema carpocapsae, S. riobrave, S. feltiae, S. rarum and S. glaseri against different developmental stages i.e. larvae, pupae and adults of fruit flies species Bactrocera zonata and Bactro...
Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus spp. are enteric bacterial symbionts of Steinernema and Heterorhabditis nematodes, respectively. These bacteria produce an extensive set of natural products (NPs) with antibacterial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, insecticidal, or other bioactivities when vectored into insect hemocoel by nematodes. We assessed the in vitro...
The pecan weevil, Curculio caryae (Horn) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and the pecan aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) complex: black pecan aphid, Melanocallis caryaefoliae (Davis), blackmargined aphid, Monellia caryella (Fitch), and yellow pecan aphid, Monelliopsis pecanis Bissell are major pests of pecan production. Management is primarily based on che...
Les charançons de la patate douce (Cylas spp.), constituent un frein à l’intensification de cette culture. Comme moyen de lutte contre ces ravageurs, une innovation technologique consistant à utiliser des nématodes entomopathogènes a été développée. Cette étude vise à décrie les caractéristiques géographiques du milieu d’étude, les pratiques des pr...
A new strain of the entomopathogenic fungus, identified as Cordyceps javanica (Frieder. & Bally) Kepler, B. Shrestha & Spatafora (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) wf GA17, was found naturally infecting the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) MEAM1 in southern Georgia, US, in September 2017. The fungus was tested for pathogenicity and viru...
Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) belonging to the genera, Steinernema and Heterorhabditis, occur naturally in the soil along with plant-parasitic nematodes which are important root pests of many different crops. Here, we report the effects of four registered nematicidal compounds (fluopyram, fosthiazate, metam potassium, and fenamiphos) that are u...
Entomopathogenic nematodes are used widely in biological insect control. Entomopathogenic nematodes can infect live insects as well as dead insects (i.e., they can act as scavengers). It is important to determine compatibility of entomopathogenic nematodes with other pest management tactics such as chemical insecticides. We hypothesized that chemic...
In Brazil, countless insect species attack and damage sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.), which is an extremely important crop since it is planted on more than 10 million hectares. Among these insects, the sugarcane billbug, Sphenophorus levis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is of great importance as the larvae open tunnels in the rhizome of the pla...
Wireworms have become a significant menace to cereals in the Northern Great Plains. Therefore, research toward developing effective control methods such as biological control with entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) is warranted. Two strains, each of two EPN species, Steinernema carpocapsae (Weiser) and Steinernema riobrave Cabanillas, Poinar, and Ra...
Onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is one of the most damaging insect pests of onions, Allium cepa L., which is an economically important agricultural crop cultivated worldwide. In this study, the combined application of entomopathogenic nematodes with entomopathogenic fungi against different soil dwelling stages of T. t...
Onion thrips Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is one of the most damaging insect pests of onion Allium cepa L., which is an economically important agriculture crop cultivated worldwide. This is first comprehensive study in which we have tested a broad range of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) species against different developmental...
Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs), Steinernema riobrave and Heterorhabditis floridensis are under evaluation for eradication of the southern cattle fever tick, Rhipicephalus microplus infesting nilgai antelope, in South Texas. Cattle fever ticks are a significant threat to the U.S. livestock industry. Although they have been eradicated in the U.S....
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is among the most economically important insect pests of various vegetable crops in the Southern United States. This insect is considered a complex of at least 40 morphologically indistinguishable cryptic species. Bemisia tabaci Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) was initially introduced in the United...
Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) infect insects and reproduce within the host cadaver. The nematodes use chemotaxis to assist in host-finding. However, the chemotaxis of nematode species in response to insects previously infected by con- and hetero-specific EPN in a sand context has rarely been reported. Our aim was to address the response of Stei...
The members of family Noctuidae exist in diverse environments and many species from this group are of agriculture importance, particularly Helicoverpa spp. Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a major pest of many legumes and cereal crops. Due to environmental and regulatory concerns, safe alternatives to broad spectrum chemica...
Harmonia axyridis is an invasive alien ladybird in North America and Europe. Studies show that multiple natural enemies are using Ha. axyridis as a new host. However, thus far, no research has been undertaken to study the effects of simultaneous infection by multiple natural enemies on Ha. axyridis. We hypothesized that high thallus densities of th...