Title:Microbial Pest Control Agents: Are they a Specific And Safe Tool for Insect Pest Management?
Volume: 24
Issue: 27
关键词:
生物杀虫剂、病毒、细菌、真菌、毒理学、环境持久性,生态毒理学。
摘要: Microorganisms (viruses, bacteria and fungi) or their bioactive agents can be used as active
substances and therefore are referred as Microbial Pest Control Agents (MPCA). They are used
as alternative strategies to chemical insecticides to counteract the development of resistances and to
reduce adverse effects on both environment and human health. These natural entomopathogenic
agents, which have specific modes of action, are generally considered safer as compared to conventional
chemical insecticides. Baculoviruses are the only viruses being used as the safest biological
control agents. They infect insects and have narrow host ranges. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is the
most widely and successfully used bioinsecticide in the integrated pest management programs in the
world. Bt mainly produces crystal delta-endotoxins and secreted toxins. However, the Bt toxins are
not stable for a very long time and are highly sensitive to solar UV. So genetically modified plants
that express toxins have been developed and represent a large part of the phytosanitary biological
products. Finally, entomopathogenic fungi and particularly, Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium
anisopliae, are also used for their insecticidal properties. Most studies on various aspects of the safety
of MPCA to human, non-target organisms and environment have only reported acute but not chronic
toxicity. This paper reviews the modes of action of MPCA, their toxicological risks to human health
and ecotoxicological profiles together with their environmental persistence. This review is part of the
special issue "Insecticide Mode of Action: From Insect to Mammalian Toxicity".