Efficacy of an Arthrobotrys oligospora N mutant in nematode-trapping larvae after passage through the digestive tract of sheep

For oral applications, biocontrol of animal parasitic nematodes in ruminants, ion beam implanted nematode-trapping fungi must have the capacity to survive the passage through the digestive tract and be efficient in reducing infective larvae of nematodes in the faeces.Ion beams induced mutation in the spores of nematode-trapping Arthrobotrys oligospora. Mutants with genetic stability were bred. The fungi were cultured in bottles with corn kernels as growth media, and spores of different doses were, respectively, administered orally to each group of sheep naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes. The control group did not receive fungi. The faeces of these experimental animals were collected and faecal cultivations carried out. The fungal germination, growth, reproduction and predation of livestock parasitic nematode larvae were tested in laboratory. The efficacy of an A. oligospora N mutant in nematode-trapping larvae after passage through the digestive tract of sheep was tested. The results indicated that the ion beam implantation induced mutation of the nematode-trapping fungi is a positive mutation. The mutant spores through the digestive tract of sheep can kill livestock parasite nematode larvae in vitro. These results indicate the potential of the A. oligospora N mutant as a biological control agent for sheep nematodes.This study showed that such biotechnology could be explored for improving the effectiveness of the use of fungal infections to control livestock parasitic nematodes. This work represents the first application of nematode-trapping fungi in eukaryotic microorganisms.