Biochemical Activities of Entomophagous Fungi

Abstract

This review is directed toward the study of the physiology and biochemistry of parasitic fungi on insects and stresses the usefulness and utility of these organisms from the standpoint of applied research and biotechnology. The review covers the principal contributions made by investigators toward elucidation of the infective mechanisms of the entomogenous fungi, and the various biochemical attributes of these organisms. The interplay of the various enzymes and associated biochemical substances which are involved in the infective process is discussed as well as the important studies of the peculiar physiology frequently associated with these microorganisms.

Fungi as elicitors of insect immune responses

“…However, the fungal enzymes involved in carbon uptake have not been identified. An extracellular trehalase has been purified from in vitro cultures of Lagenidium spp., a fungal parasite of mosquitoes (see Domnas and Warner, 1991). A decline in the concentration of the major hemolymph storage carbohydrate, trehalose, during the infection process suggests that this disaccharide is used by Lagenidium spp.…”

Laboratory screening for virulent entomopathogenic nematodes (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and Steinernema yirgalemense) and fungi (Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana) and assessment of possible synergistic effects of combined use against grubs of the barley chafer Coptognathus curtipennis

“…Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) parasitise and kill insects and, thus, are also potent biological control agents (Domnas & Warner, 1991). They are widely distributed throughout the fungal kingdom, although the major ones are species of the genera Metarhizium (M. anisopliae) and Beauveria (B. bassiana).…”

Biochemical characterization and ultrastructural localization of two extracellular trypsins produced by Metarhizium anisopliae in infected insect cuticles

“…There is also accumulating evidence that the proteinases of protozoa and bacteria facilitate infestations of animal hosts (1). In fact, protease production seems to be one of the first biochemical responses by many parasitic organisms following host contact (5). This is also true of those entomopathogenic fungi that effect entry into insects by breaching the proteinaceous outer integument (26,28).…”