Termite management by entomopathogenic fungi: Recent advances and future prospects

Abstract

Termites are global pest for man-made structures, and in some parts of the world, they infest agricultural crops as well. Termite control relies predominately on chemical insecticides, but the negative impacts of synthetic termiticides on the environment limit their applications. Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) are considered an environmentally friendly alternative. Nevertheless, termites have developed various defensive behavioral strategies to circumvent EPF. In this review, we summarize (1) the use of EPF as a biological control agent and strategies/defenses of termites that minimize the effectiveness of EPF, (2) the potential of integrating entomopathogenic fungi with RNA interference (RNAi) as an effective termite control strategy, (3) discussed nanoparticles (silver, chitosan, titanium, etc) which are biosynthesized from different EPF. Nanoparticles have the ability to deliver RNAi triggers (dsRNA/siRNA), so we proposed the synthesis of EPF-based nanoparticles and dsRNA/siRNA complex as potential strategy to control termite pests.

Keywords

• Termites
• Biological control
• Entomopathogenic fungi
• RNA interference
• Nanoparticles