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Evaluation of Bacillus thuringiensis pathogenicity for a strain of the tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, resistant to chemical pesticides

Manuel Fernández-Ruvalcaba^1a*, Guadalupe Peña-Chora^2b, Armando Romo-Martínez^1c, Víctor Hernández-Velázquez^3d, Alejandra Bravo de la Parra^4e and Diego Pérez De La Rosa^1f

¹Centro Nacional de Investigaciones en Parasitología Veterinaria INIFAP. Km. 11.5 Carretera Federal Cuernavaca- Cuautla, Col. Progreso, Jiutepec, Morelos, México, C. P. 62550
²Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001 Col. Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, C. P. 62209
³Centro de Investigaciones en Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001 Col. Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, C. P. 62209
⁴Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001 Col. Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, C. P. 62210

Abstract

The pathogenicity of four native strains of Bacillus thuringiensis against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrine) (Acari: Ixodidae) was evaluated. A R. microplus strain that is resistant to organophosphates, pyrethroids, and amidines, was used in this study. Adult R. microplus females were bioassayed using the immersion test of Drummond against 60 B. thuringiensis strains. Four strains, GP123, GP138, GP130, and GP140, were found to be toxic. For the immersion test, the total protein concentration for each bacterial strain was 1.25 mg/ml. Mortality, oviposition, and egg hatch were recorded. All of the bacterial strains had significant effects compared to the controls, but no significant differences were seen between the 4 strains. It is evident that these B. thuringiensis strains have a considerable detrimental effect on the R. microplus strain that is resistant to pesticides.

Keywords: biological control, ticks, oviposition inhibition, immersion, feeding

Correspondence: ^a*fernadez.manuel@inifap.gob.mx, ^bpenacg@cib.uaem.mx, ^celiomaximo@yahoo.com, ^dvmauelh@uaem.mx, ^ebravo@servidor.unam.mx, ^fsabueso16@hotmail.com, *Corresponding author
Associate Editor: Fernando Vega was editor of this paper.

Received: 3 November 2008 | Accepted: 19 November 2009 | Published: 22 October 2010

Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.

ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 10, Number 186

Fernández-Ruvalcaba M, Peña-Chora M, Romo-Martínez A, Hernández-Velázquez V, la Parra AB, La Rosa DP. 2010. Evaluation of Bacillus thuringiensis pathogenicity for a strain of the tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, resistant to chemical pesticides. Journal of Insect Science 10:186, available online: insectscience.org/10.186