Nematicidal action of Pleurotus eryngii metabolites

Pleurotus eryngii is one of the most cultivated and consumed mushroom species in North Africa, Europe and Asia. Fungi from Pleurotus genus have demonstrated nematophagous activities, however most of the literature reports are focused on Pleurotus ostreatus. The aim of this work was to evaluate P. eryngii action on Panagrellus sp. and to evaluate the effect of this fungus culture extract on Meloidogyne javanica eggs. P. eryngii fungus and its extract significantly reduced (p < 0.01) the number of intact Panagrellus sp. larvae after 24 h treatment in 60% and 90%, respectively. This effect is not related to enzymatic activity, but to the presence of other metabolites. M. javanica eggs, when treated with P. eryngii extract, showed a 53% reduction (p < 0.01) in the number of intact eggs. The M. javanica intact eggs reduction is attributed to enzymatic activity, once the extract showed proteolytic and chitinolytic activities of, respectively, 32.74 and 3.57 U/mL. P. eryngii fungus has predatory activity against Panagrellus sp. larvae due to toxins production and negatively affects M. javanica eggs and juveniles development due to chitinases and proteases production, evidencing this fungus potential to be used in biological control.