Abstract:
Termite control costs $1.5 billion per year in the United
States alone, and methods for termite control usually
consist of chemical pesticides. However, these methods
have their drawbacks, which include the development
of resistance, environmental pollution, and toxicity
to other organisms. Biological termite control, which
employs the use of living organisms to combat pests,
offers an alternative to chemical pesticides. This study
highlights the discovery of a fungus, termed “APU
strain,” that was hypothesized to be pathogenic to
termites. Phylogenetic and morphological analysis
showed that the fungus is a strain of Aspergillus
sclerotiorum, and experiments showed that both
western drywood (Incisitermes minor) and western
subterranean (Reticulitermes hesperus) termites die in
a dose-dependent manner exposed to fungal spores
of A. sclerotiorum APU strain. In addition, exposure
to the A. sclerotiorum Huber strain elicited death in
a similar manner as the APU strain. The mechanism
by which the fungus caused termite death is still
unknown and warrants further investigation. While
these results support that A. sclerotiorum is a termite
pathogen, further studies are needed to determine
whether the fungal species has potential as a biological
control agent.
