Patogenicidad in vitro de cepas de Metarhizium anisopliae en Rhicephalus (Boophilus) microplus

Rhicephalus (Boophilus) microplus ticks represent a strong problem in cattle production systems in the Mexican humid tropics. For its control, various chemical products are applied with negative implications such as bio-resistance, high costs, environmental impact and risks to people's health due to the consumption of milk and meat with product residues. The objective of this research was to evaluate the in vitro pathogenicity of Metarhizium anisopliae strains MM0801 and CD0804 on Rhicephalus (Boophilus) microplus ticks. Five concentrations 3x104, 3x105, 3x106, 3x107, 2.6x108 of conidia per milliliter of M. anisopliae were evaluated on ticks in adult stage collected live from cattle from the Catazaja dairy basin, Chiapas, Mexico. Ticks were susceptible to the entomopathogenic fungus, finding a mortality of 50% where the mean lethal concentration obtained was 6.58 x 106 conidia / ml of strain MM0801. It is concluded that M. anisopliae influences the degree of virulence of the tick, which may be an alternative for the biological control of the tick in the humid Mexican tropics.