Oviposition Response of the Mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus to the Secondary Metabolite(s) of the Fungus, Trichoderma viride

• Published in: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 2003-03, Vol.98 (2), p.223-226
• Main Authors: Geetha, I, Paily, K P, Padmanaban, V, Balaraman, K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Cresols - pharmacology; Culex - anatomy & histology; Culex - drug effects; Culex quinquefasciatus; Culture Media; Female; mosquito oviposition attractancy; Oviposition - drug effects; Pest Control, Biological - methods; secondary metabolites; Trichoderma - chemistry; Trichoderma viride; Trichoderma viride - secondary metabolites - mosquito oviposition attractancy - Culex quinquefasciatus
• ISSN: 1678-8060; 0074-0276; 0074-0276; 1678-8060
• DOI: 10.1590/S0074-02762003000200010

Secondary metabolites produced by Trichoderma viride , a deuteromycetes fungus, under submerged culture condition were formulated and evaluated for oviposition attractancy against gravid females of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito. At a concentration of 10µg ml -1 the formulation showed remarkable attractancy with an oviposition active index (OAI) of +0.52. When the oviposition attractancy of the formulation was compared with a known oviposition attractant, p-cresol, both at 10 µ g ml -1 , the former was found to be more attractive to result in 70% egg laying than the later with 30% egg laying. Thin layer chromatography fractions of the secondary metabolites showed that a fraction with Rf value of 0.88 was highly active as oviposition attractant with an OAI of +0.65. Further work on identification of the active principle(s) of the microbial formulation might lead to an oviposition attractant useful in mosquito vector management.