%0 Journal Article
%T In vitro production of two chitinolytic proteins with an inhibiting effect on the insect coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and the fungus Hemileia vastatrix the most limiting pests of coffee crops
%A Claudia P Mart¨ªnez
%A Claudia Echeverri
%A Juan C Florez
%A Alvaro L Gaitan
%A Carmenza E G¨®ngora
%J AMB Express
%D 2012
%I Springer
%R 10.1186/2191-0855-2-22
%X Colombia is one of the most important countries for production of mild coffee (Coffea arabica L.), with over 870,000 Ha planted (Federacaf¨¦ 2010). The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytidae), is the most significant pest of the Colombian coffee crop, and it is found in all the coffee-growing regions of the world (Benavides et al. 2012; Bustillo 2002). Female insects fly towards coffee beans and bore into them until reaching the seed endocarpium, where they deposit their eggs. After the eggs hatch, larvae feed on the seed, causing weight loss in the grain, decreasing quality due to fungal contamination, and the falling of small cherries to the ground (Duque et al. 1997).The coffee leaf rust, caused by the fungus Hemileia vastatrix Berk. and Br. (Uredinales) is the main limiting disease of susceptible Coffea arabica varieties around the world. Although all its life cycle occurs in the leaves, cholorosis and defoliation affect the filling and maturation of coffee beans, reducing bean size and quality. Several rust resistant varieties have been bred in various coffee producing countries, including the Colombia and Castillo varieties (Castillo and Moreno 1988; Alvarado et al. 2005) but the ability of H. vastatrix to overcome such genetic resistance threatens continuously the durability of this control method. To date, the natural resistance to the coffee borer identified in C. arabica germplasm collections is considered weak, and sources of resistance genes against the coffee leaf rust are limited.Both parasites, the coffee berry borer and the coffee rust, contain chitin, an insoluble linear ¦Â-1,4 polymer of N-acetyl ¦Â-D- glucosamide, that is a structural component present in the cuticle and shells of arthropods and mollusks, in the cell wall of fungi and some algae, and in certain nematode stages (Brydon et al. 1989; Elango et al. 1982; Gooday 1990).In insects, chitin is a significant component of the cuticle, which cons
%K Coffee-based artificial diet
%K Uredinospores
%K Arrested development
%K Fungal cell wall
%K Growth
%K Mortality
%U http://www.amb-express.com/content/2/1/22