Termiticidal Effects and Morpho-Histological Alterations in the Subterranean Termite (<i>Odontotermes formosanus</i>) Induced by Biosynthesized Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, and Chitosan Nanoparticles
Raghda Nasser,
Ezzeldin Ibrahim,
Hatem Fouad,
Farhan Ahmad,
Wuhan Li,
Qihuan Zhou,
Ting Yu,
Nooney Chidwala,
Jianchu Mo
Affiliations
Raghda Nasser
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agricultural and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Ezzeldin Ibrahim
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Hatem Fouad
Department of Field Crop Pests, Plant Protection Research Institute, Agricultural Research Centre, Cairo 12622, Egypt
Farhan Ahmad
Entomology Section, Central Cotton Research Institute, Multan P.O. Box 66000, Pakistan
Wuhan Li
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agricultural and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Qihuan Zhou
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agricultural and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Ting Yu
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agricultural and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Nooney Chidwala
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agricultural and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Jianchu Mo
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agricultural and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Recently, nanoparticles have been widely used in agricultural pest control as a secure substitute for pesticides. However, the effect of nanoparticles on controlling the subterranean termite Odontotermes formosanus (O. formosanus) has not been studied yet. Consequently, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of some nanomaterials in controlling O. formosanus. The results showed that zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs), titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs), and chitosan nanoparticles (CsNPs) biosynthesized using the culture filtrate of Scedosporium apiospermum (S. apiospermum) had an effective role in controlling O. formosanus. Moreover, the mortality rate of O. formosanus after 48 h of treatment with ZnONPs, TiO2NPs, and CsNPs at a 1000 µg/mL concentration was 100%, 100%, and 97.67%, respectively. Furthermore, using ZnONPs, TiO2NPs, and CsNPs on O. formosanus resulted in morpho-histological variations in the normal structure, leading to its death. X-ray diffraction, UV-vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and the Zeta potential were used to characterize the biosynthesis of ZnONPs, TiO2NPs, and CsNPs with strong activity against O. formosanus termites. Overall, the results of this investigation suggest that biosynthesized ZnONPs, TiO2NPs, and CsNPs have enormous potential for use as innovative, ecologically safe pesticides for O. formosanus control.
