BIOPESTICDE

Definition of biopesticide :-

Biopesticides, a contraction of 'biological pesticides', include

several types of pest management intervention: through
predatory, parasitic, or chemical relationships.
In the EU, biopesticides have been defined as "a form of pesticide
based on micro-organisms or natural products".
The US EPA states that they "include naturally occurring
substances that control pests (biochemical pesticides),
microorganisms that control pests (microbial pesticides), and
pesticidal substances produced by plants containing added
genetic material (plant-incorporated protectants) or PIPs".

Types of Biopesticide
Serial Type Agent Example
No.
1 Microbial Pesticide Virus 1. NPV of Baculovirus
Bacteria 2. Bt toxin of
Fungi Bacillus thuringiensis
protozoa

2 Biochemical or Naturally Scented plant extracts

Herbal pesticide occurring
substances
3 Plant Incorporated Genetic Plant producing Bt toxin
Protectants(PIPs) material/toxin

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Designing of Biopesticide

Biopesticides are design on the basis of negative interaction between

biological agent and pest. These negative relations are

1. Competition for nutrient

2. Amensalism
3. Production of antibiotic
4. Direct Parasitism
5. Induced Resistance

As based on my assignment topic, I will focus only on microbe based

biopesticides.

Definition of Microbial pesticides:-

Preparation of antagonistic microbial populations are called microbial

pesticides.

Criteria of Ideal Microbial Pesticides:-

1) The ideal microbial pesticide should not be subject to attack by

hyperparasites
2) It should be virulent, causing disease in the pest population when
applied at the recommended concentration
3) It should not be sensitive to moderate environmental variations
4) It should survive following application until infection within the
pest population has been established
5) It should rapidly establish disease in pest populations so as to
minimize destruction by the pest population
6) It should be rather specific for the pest population so as not to
cause disease in nontarget populations.

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Microbial Control of Insect Pests :-

Microbial control methods have been developed for the suppression of

arthropod pests, especially insects .
Several commercial microbial insecticides have been developed and
marketed.
Microbial suppression of insect populations is aimed at those that cause
crop and other plant damage and at those that act as vectors of disease-
causing microorganisms. Potentially,
1. many viral,
2. bacterial,
3. fungal,
4. and protozoan populations can be used in the control of
insect pests and vectors.

Viral Pesticides:-
Insect pathogenic viruses have the potential to become useful pesticidal
agents
More than 450 viruses have been described from approximately 500
arthropod species.
Insect pathogenic viruses frequently cause natural epizootics, the analog of
epidemics applied to animals.

Viruses pathogenic for insects are found in the families-

1. Baculoviridae,
2. Poxviridae,
3. Reovindac,
4. Iridoviridae,
5. Parvoviridae,
6. Picornaviridae,
7. and Rhabdoviridac.

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Some of these are

1. nuclear polyhedrosis viruses (NPV),

2. cytoplasmic polyhedrosis viruses (CPV),
3. and granulosis viruses (GV).

Nuclear polyhedrosis viruses develop in the host cell nuclei; the virions are
occluded singly or in groups in polyhedral inclusion bodies.

Cytoplasmic polyhedrosis viruses develop only in the cytoplasm of host midgut

epithelial cells the virions are occluded singly in polyhedral inclusion bodies.

Granulosis viruses develop in either the nucleus or the cytoplasm of host fat,
tracheal, or epidermal cells; the virions are occluded singly or rarely ,in pairs in
small occlusion bodies called capsules.

Baculoviruses are perhaps the most studied insect viruses. They include
1. nuclear polyhedrosis
2. and granul osis viruses.

Pathogenic baculoviruses have been found principally for

1. Lepidoptera.
2. Hymenopiera.
3. and Diptera.

Infection is often transmitted by ingestion of contaminated food. Cell invasion

probably begins in the midgut.

Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera larvae that feed on plant leaves are important
pests that cause great economic loss. Inoculation of leaves with polyhedrosis
viruses can initiate epizootics, resulting in decreases in pest populations. Many
nuclear polyhedrosis viruses kill host larvae, releasing the polyhedra over the
plant. The polyhedra remain infective for a long time.

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Nuclear polyhedrosis viruses have been used extensively in controlling pests of

forest trees .
Gypsy moths,
tent caterpillars,
and spruce budwonns

are subject to epizootics caused by nuclear polyhedrosis viruses.

NPV of Baculoviruses:-
Structure:

Nuclear polyhedrosis viruses develop in the host cell nuclei; the virions are
occluded singly or in groups in polyhedral inclusion bodies.
41% of arthropod viruses develop in host cell nuclei virions occluded
singly/groups in polyhedral inclusion bodies.
Rod shaped, double stranded DNA

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Mode of Action :-
Infection is often transmitted by ingestion of contaminated food. Cell invasion
probably begins in the midgut.

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Symptoms :-
- Discoloration (brown and yellow)
-Stress
-Decomposition (liquification)
-Lethargy
-Infected larvae hang invertedly from twigs
- host will become visibly swollen with fluid containing the virus and will
eventually die turning black with decay

Example to control outbreaks of a variety of pests:-

Pathogenic Baculoviruses have been found principally for

1. Lepidoptera.
2. Hymenopiera.
3. and Diptera

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Viruses have been used in attempts to control outbreaks of a variety of pests.
Including

1. gypsy moths.
2. Douglas fir tussock moths.
3. pine processionary caterpillars,
4. red-handed leaf roller(pest of apples , walnuts, and other deciduous fruits).
5. Great Basin tent caterpillars
6. alfalfa caterpillars
7. . white butterflies,
8. cabbage loopers,
9. cotton bollworms.
10. corn earworms.
11. tobacco budworms.
12. tomato worms.
13. army worms,
14. wattle bagworms, and others.

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Bacterial pesticide:-
There are several bacterial pathogens of insects that currently are used as
insecticides or that have potential for such use in the future

They indude

1. Rickettsiella popiliae.
2. Bacillus popiliae,
3. B. thuringiensis
4. B. lentimorbus
5. B. sphaericus.
6. Clostridium malacosome.
7. Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Bacteria that used as biopesticides can be divided into 2 type:

1. Nonspore-forming species in the Pseudomonaeae and the

Enterobacteriaceae
2. A spore-forming bacteria in which bacteria belong to the Bacilliaceae.

Introduction B. thuringiensis:-
B. thuringiensis is the commonly known biological control agent.

B. thuringiensis has many subspecies that differ in the number and type of
plasmids they contain. The genetic information coding for the insecticidal
toxins of these strain is borne on these plasmids.
B. thuringiensis is an aerobic spore-forming bacterium which produces a
toxin (Bt toxin or Cry) that kills certain insects
They have no toxicity to human & there is no withholding period on
produce sprayed with Bt
B. thuringiensis. is called a crystalliferous bacterium because, in addition to
endospores. it produces discrete patasporal bodies within the cell

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 Several toxic substances have been isolated from B. thuringiensis and are
designated as either exotoxin or endotoxin, the later being responsible for
most of the insecticidal activity.
The endotoxins comprise the paracrystalline inclusion body.
In most cases, this is located outside the exosporium. in a few strains, it is
associated with the exosporium.
The proteinaceous parasporal crystal is the toxic factor. Four separate toxic
substances are produced by B. thuringiensis

Fig: spores of B. thuringiensis

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Mode of action:-

The main components of the paracrystalline inclusions are polypeptides

130 to kilodaltons in size
These molecules arc termed Pro-toxin
They are solubilized in the alkaline midgut of susceptible insect larvae,
releasing an active toxin estimated to have a size of 30-80 kDa .

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 BT delta-endoioxins are activated within the midgut of the insect by the
action of alkaline proteases that cleave the protoxin to form the active toxic
protein.
Activated toxin binds to the convoluted brush border membranes of the
columnar cells of the insect midgut epithehum.
Binding of BT toxin affects osmoregulation and specificaIly alters the flux of
potassium ions across the epithelium at the midgut leading to loss of
cellular ATP and insect death .

Effect of toxin:-
The delta- endotoxin is potently insecticidal, as demonstrated by effective
LC50 (the concenuations lethal to 5O of susceptible larvae) that arc often as
low as a fraction of a microgram per milliliter (less than I part per million)
Insects that consume BT delta-endotoxin usually die within 3-5 days.

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Bt and biotechnology:-
In the last twenty years, scientists made a surprising discovery DNA is
interchangeable among animals, plants, bacteria ... any organism! In addition to
using traditional breeding methods of improving plants and animals through years
of cross-breeding and selection, scientists can now isolate the gene or genes for
the traits they want in one animal or plant and move them into another. Of
course, when a trait is controlled by several genes, the transfer process is more
difficult. The plants or animals modified in this way are called transgenic.

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 First, scientists identify a strain of Bt that kills the targeted insect. Then they
isolate the gene that produces the lethal protein. That gene is removed
from the Bt bacterium, and a gene conferring resistance to a chemical
(usually antibiotic or herbicide) is attached that will prove useful in a later
step.

The Bt gene with the resistance gene attached is inserted into plant cells. At
this point, scientists must determine which plant cells have successfully
received the Bt gene and are now transformed. Any plant cell that has the
Bt gene must also have the resistance gene that was attached to it.
Researchers grow the plant cells in the presence of the antibiotic or
herbicide and select the plant cells that are unaffected by it. These
genetically transformed plant cells are then grown into whole plants by a
process called tissue culture. The modified plants produce the same lethal
Bt protein produced by Bt bacteria because the plants now have the same
gene.

Research to transfer insect resistance genes from Bt to crop plants is well

under way. Corn, cotton and potatoes are three of the many commercial
crops targeted for Bt insect resistance.

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Fungal pesticide

Fungi are potentially important in the control of pest populations.

Most studies on entomogenous fungi (fungi that live on insects) have been
concerard with members of fungal genera

1. Beauveria

2. Metarrhizium

3. Entomophthora

4. and Coelomomyces

Fungi of the genus Aschersonia were used to control pests of citrus trees .

The fungus Metarrhizium used in to control populations of leaf hoppers

and frog hoppers.

Members of the genus Entomophthora show promise as pathogens of

aphids.

Some members of the genus Coelomomyces are pathogenic to the larvne

of the mosquito populations of Anopheles, Opifex. and Aedes.

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Mode of action:-

Entomopathogenic fungi are important natural regulators of insect

populations and have potential as mycoinsecticide agents against diverse
insect pests in agriculture.

Under natural conditions, Metarhizium are found in the soil, where the
moist conditions permit lamentous growth and production of infectious
spores, called conidia, which infect
soil-dwelling insects upon contact M. anisopliae has the potential to be
used as a biocontrol agent, particularly for malaria vector species, and is
also a suitable candidate for further research and development
These fungi infect their hosts by penetrating through the cuticle, gaining
access to the hemolymph, producing toxins, and grow by utilizing nutrients
present in the haernocoel.

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Protozoal pesticide:-
Almost 1,000 protozoan species, mainly microsporidia, attack invertebrates,
including numerous insect species like grasshoppers and heliothine moths.
Virtually renowned insect- pathogenic protozoan species are Nosema spp. and
Vairimorpha necatrix .
Protozoans produce spores, which are the infectious phase in several
susceptible insects. Nosema spp. spores are assimilated by the host and
develop in the midgut.
Germinating spores are released from the sporoplasm and invade host
target cells, inducing massive infection and demolishing organs and tissues.
Sporulation process begins again from the infected tissues and, upon expulsion
and ingestion by a susceptible host, induces an epizootic infection. Naturally,
parasitoids and insect predators commonly act as vectors distributing the
disease

Advantages of using biopesticides compared to chemical

pesticides:-
1) How they affect non target species
When a pesticide is applied to counter a specific pest, this pest is referred to as
the target species. Biopesticides products usually fight their intended pests while
chemicals end up affecting non target species which include; other insects, birds
and mammals.

2) Pollution
Due to the toxic ingredients contained in the conventional pesticides, their
pollution levels are so high that they cause serious and most of the times fatal
effects to the environment. These negative effects can be experienced from the
production of the product to the consumption of the plants that these products
have been applied on.

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 3) Cost
Most biological pesticide products occur naturally which reduces the cost of
production resulting in relatively cheaper prices compared to chemical pesticides
whose manufacturing cost is high. This results in the consumer footing the bill at a
relatively costlier price.

4) Pest resistance
Records have shown that pests tend to become resistance to conventional
pesticides thus proving that it is not a long term solution, something that never
happens with the use of organic pesticides.

5) Market
As the ordinary consumer became aware of the dangers posed by synthetic
chemicals, demand for farm products that have undergone organic treatments
rose. This makes the use of these chemicals a potential risk as theres a glaring
possibility of incurring huge losses due to the consumer shunning your product.

Advantages of Biopesticides:
1. Host specificity.
2. Ability to multiply in the target cells.
3. No problem of toxic residue.
4. No evidence or absence of resistance.
5. No problem of cross resistance.
6. Conventional technique or methods for applications.
7. Permanent control of pest or long persisting effect.
8. Idealy suited for integration with most other plant protection measures used in
IPM programme.
9. No fear of environment pollution and hence ecofriendly.

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Disadvantages or Limitation:
1. High selectivity or host specificity.
2. Requirement of additional control measures.
3. The correct time of application.
4. Delayed effect or mortality.
5. Storage problem.
6. Difficulty of culturing in large quantities.
7. Short residual effectiveness.

Reference:-
1) http://extension.missouri.edu/p/NCR553

2) Chapter-16 of Microbial Ecology: Fundamentals and Applications

byRonald M. Atlas, Richard Bartha

3) http://www.agriinfo.in/default.aspx?page=topic&superid=3&topicid=
1951

4) http://www.dudutech.com/advantages-using-biopesticides-
compared-chemical-pesticides/

5) www.slideshare.net

6) www.authorsteam.com

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