Microcin as an Insecticidal Antibiotic Against Trogoderma Granarium Everts (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)

Abstract

Microcin was extracted and formulated from Citrobacter spp. isolated from a healthy human. The results showed that there is a deleterious effect on the survival of khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium Everts (Coleoptera: Dermestidae), which is a major pest of stored grains. Microcin has been used as Bio-insecticides to overcome the disadvantages of chemical pesticides. Biological control is one of the main components of IPM in recent years. This laboratory study was to evaluate the insecticidal activity of antibiotic microcin. The oral delivery of microcin caused a dose-dependent effect, with 100% mortality of adult at concentrations of 62.5mg/ml after 10 days. Moreover, the toxicity of microcin was tested against the larvae, T. granarium which caused 30% mortality at 500 mg/ml after 10 days.  Larvae were more tolerant than adults to the microcin. This study demonstrates the potential power of using microcin as a new approach for the control of T. granarium. Also, the results of this study showed that the germination of wheat grains treated with different concentrations (62.5, 125, 250 and 500 mg/ml) of microcin did not affect by the microcin treatment.