Aspergillus sclerotiorum fungus is lethal to both Western drywood (Incisitermes minor) and Western subterranean (Reticulitermes hesperus)termites

Abstract

Termite control costs $1.5 billion per year in the United States alone, and methods for termite control usually consist of chemical pesticides. However, these methods have their drawbacks, which include the development of resistance, environmental pollution, and toxicity to other organisms. Biological termite control, which employs the use of living organisms to combat pests, offers an alternative to chemical pesticides. This study highlights the discovery of a fungus, termed “APU strain,” that was hypothesized to be pathogenic to termites. Phylogenetic and morphological analysis showed that the fungus is a strain of Aspergillus sclerotiorum, andexperiments showed that both western drywood (Incisitermes minor) and western subterranean (Reticulitermes hesperus) termites die in a dose-dependent manner exposed to fungal spores of A. sclerotiorum APU strain. In addition, exposure to the A. sclerotiorum Huber strain elicited death in a similar manner as the APU strain. The mechanism by which the fungus caused termite death is still unknown and warrants further investigation. While these results support that A. sclerotiorum is a termite pathogen, further studies are needed to determine whether the fungal species has potential as a biological control agent.