Effects of Physical Factors on the Development of Secondary Conidia of Erynia conica (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales), a Pathogen of Adult Black Flies (Diptera: Simuliidae)

Abstract

Nadeau, M. P., Dunphy, G. B., and Boisvert, J. L. 1995. Effects of physical factors on the development of secondary conidia of Erynia conica (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales), a pathogen of adult black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae). Experimental Mycology 19, 324-329. The effects of selected physical factors on the development of secondary type 2 conidia of Erynia conica was studied in vitro and in situ. Conidial germination and sporulation occurred without exogenous nutrients and was not influenced by substratum hardness or hydrophobicity but was influenced by pH, temperature, and charge of the substrata. Germination and sporulation occurred throughout the pH range of 5.5 to 8.0 and temperatures ranging between 5 and 30°C. Both germination and sporulation had the same optimum pH (7.5-8.0) and optimum temperature (10-20°C). The effect of temperature on the pattern of germination of conidia was similar in vitro and in situ. The infective stages of appressorial formation and penetration (observed only in situ) were more affected by temperature than was conidial germination.