Catalases and peroxidases are the most important enzymes that degrade hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. These enzymes and superoxide dismutase are the first lines of cell defense against reactive oxygen species. Metarhizium anisopliae displays an increase in catalase-peroxidase activity during germination and growth. To determine the importance of catalase during the invasion process of M. anisopliae, we isolated the cat1 gene. cat1 cDNA expression in Escherichia coli and the subsequent purification of the protein confirmed that the cat1 gene codes for a monofunctional catalase. Expression analysis of this gene by RT-PCR from RNA isolated from fungus grown in liquid cultures showed a decrease in the expression level of the cat1 gene during germination and an increase during mycelium growth. The expression of this gene in the fungus during the infection process of the larvae of Plutella xylostella also showed a significant increase during invasive growth. Transgenic strains overexpressing the cat1 gene had twice the catalase activity of the wild-type strain. This increase in catalase activity was accompanied by a higher level of resistance to exogenous hydrogen peroxide and a reduction in the germination time. This improvement was also observed during the infection of P. xylostella larvae. M. anisopliae transgenic strains overexpressing the cat1 gene grew and spread faster in the soft tissue of the insect, reducing the time to death of the insect by 25% and the dose required to kill 50% of the population 14-fold.

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Insect pathogenic fungi such as Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana have an increasing role in the control of agricultural insect pests and vectors of human diseases. Many of the virulence factors are well studied but less is known of the metabolism of these fungi during the course of insect infection or saprobic growth. Here, we assessed enzyme activity and gene expression in the central carbon metabolic pathway, including isocitrate dehydrogenase, aconitase, citrate synthase, malate synthase (MLS) and isocitrate lyase (ICL), with particular attention to the glyoxylate cycle when M. anisopliae and B. bassiana were grown under various conditions. We observed that ICL and MLS, glyoxylate cycle intermediates, were upregulated during growth on 2-carbon compounds (acetate and ethanol) as well as in insect haemolymph. We fused the promoter of the M. anisopliae ICL gene (Ma-icl) to a marker gene (mCherry) and showed that Ma-icl was upregulated when M. anisopliae was grown in the presence of acetate. Furthermore, Ma-icl was upregulated when fungi were engulfed by insect haemocytes as well as during appressorium formation. Addition of the ICL inhibitor 3-nitroproprionate delayed conidial germination and inhibited appressorium formation. These results show that these insect pathogenic fungi have a flexible metabolism that includes the glyoxylate cycle as an integral part of germination, pathogenesis and saprobic growth.

Zymography of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity in the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae grown under various conditions revealed that micro-aerobic growth was associated with increased ADH activity. The major ADH protein, AdhIp, was purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography and has an estimated molecular weight of 41kDa and an isoelectric point (pI) of 6.4. Peptide mass fingerprint analysis allowed the identification and cloning of the gene that encodes this protein, Adh1, as annotated in the M. anisopliae genome database. AdhIp is related to the medium-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (MDR)/zinc-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase-like family and contains conserved ADH sequence motifs, such as the zinc-containing ADH signature, the FAD/NAD binding domain and amino acid residues that are conserved in most microbial ADHs. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that Adh1 gene expression occurs at low levels during early Plutella xylostella infection and that the Adh1 gene was primarily expressed at larval death and as mycelia emerge from the insect cuticle before conidiation. Antisense-RNA experiments indicated that NAD(+)-dependent ADH activity was diminished by 20-75% in the transformants, and the transformants that had lower ADH activity showed allyl alcohol resistance, which indicates that reduction in ADH activity also occurs in vivo. Bioassays performed using antisense adh1 transformants, which have lower ADH activity, showed that LC50 values were two to five times higher than the wild-type, indicating that AdhIp is required for full capability of the fungus to penetrate and/or colonize the insect.

Most land plants are able to form symbiotic associations with fungi, and in many cases these associations are necessary for plant and fungal survival. These plant/fungal associations are formed with mycorrhizal (arbuscular mycorrhizal or ectomycorrhizal) or endophytic fungi, fungi from distinct phylogenetic lineages. While it has been shown that mycorrhizal fungi are able to transfer nutrients to plant roots in exchange for carbon, endophytes have been thought as asymptomatic colonizers. Recently, however, it has been shown that some insect pathogenic endophytic fungi are able to transfer insect derived nitrogen to plant roots, likely in exchange for plant sugars. Here we explore potential convergent evolutionary strategies for nutrient transfer between insect pathogenic endophytes and mycorrhizal fungus.

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Different strains of Metarhizium exhibit a range of polymorphisms in colony phenotypes. These phenotypes range from highly conidiating colonies to colonies that produce relatively more mycelia and few conidia. These different phenotypes are exhibited in infected insects in the soil. In this paper, we provide a theoretical consideration of colony polymorphisms and suggest that these phenotypes represent a range of strategies in the soil that Metarhizium exhibits. We call these different strategies “sleepers” and “creepers”. The “sleeper” phenotype produces relatively greater amounts of conidia. We use the term “sleeper” to identify this phenotype since this strategy is to remain in the soil as conidia in a relatively metabolically inactive state until a host insect or plant encounter these conidia. The “creeper” phenotype is predominantly a mycelial phenotype. In this strategy, hyphae move through the soil until a host insect or plant is encountered. We theoretically model the costs and benefits of these phenotypic polymorphisms and suggest how evolution could possibly select for these different strategies.

The gene ODC1, which codes for the ornithine decarboxylase enzyme, was isolated from the entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae. The deduced amino acid sequence predicted a protein of 447 amino acids with a molecular weight of 49.3 kDa that contained the canonical motifs of ornithine decarboxylases. The ODC1 cDNA sequence was expressed in Escherichia coli cells; radiometric enzyme assays showed that the purified recombinant protein had ornithine decarboxylase activity. The optimum pH of the purified Odc1 protein was 8.0-8.5, and the optimum reaction temperature was 37°C. The apparent K(m) for ornithine at a pyridoxal phosphate concentration of 20mM was 22 μM. The competitive inhibitor of ODC activity, 1,4-diamino-2-butanone (DAB), at 0.25 mM inhibited 95% of ODC activity. The ODC1 mRNA showed an increase at the beginning of appressorium formation in vitro. During the M. anisopliae invasion process into Plutella xylostella larvae, the ODC1 mRNA showed a discrete increase within the germinating spore and during appressorium formation. The second expression peak was higher and prolonged during the invasion and death of the insect. The ODC1 gene complements the polyamine auxotrophy of Yarrowia lipolytica odc null mutant.