Morpho-Molecular Characterization and Virulence Determination of Entomopathogenic Fungal Isolates Native to Indian Subcontinent

Abstract

Background: The house fly, Musca domestica L. is a major pest of medical and veterinary significance which due to their ubiquitous lifestyle and broad food preference achieves a very high density in favorable climatic conditions of Indian subcontinent. This has led to several instances of severe health condition among human and animal population, calling attention towards M. domestica control through existing and innovative methods. Use of biological control agent, such as entomopathogenic fungi (ENPF) for M. domestica control has shown potential, and need to be further explored for the newer isolates suited to particular environment for greater efficacy. The present study attempted the isolation and identification of native ENPF strains suitable for M. domestica control.

Phenotypic, molecular, and virulence characterization of entomopathogenic fungi, Beauveria bassiana (Balsam) Vuillemin, and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschn.) Sorokin from soil samples of Ethiopia for the development of mycoinsecticide

“…The endophytic and epiphytic characteristics of EPF induce plant resistance to insect pests (Klieber and Reineke, 2016;Ramakuwela et al, 2020) and microbial disease-causing agents by increasing plant defense responses (Moonjely et al, 2016). Consequently, they have attracted attention as microbial insecticides to control insect pests because of their high virulence, broad host range and can be isolated from wide ranges of soil habitats particularly cultivated and forest soils existence in a wide range of habitats (Gürlek et al, 2018;Mishra et al, 2015).…”

Suitability of agricultural by-products as production medium for spore production by Beauveria bassiana HQ917687

“…Beauveria bassiana HQ917687 used in this study for SSF was isolated from soil samples collected from Northern Uttar Pradesh, India (Mishra et al 2015). The fungal isolate was maintained on Potato Dextrose Agar slants at 4°C.…”

Selection and characterization of thermotolerant Beauveria bassiana isolates and with insecticidal activity against the cotton‐melon aphid Aphis gossypii (Glover) (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

“…Indeed, these products may be exposed to high temperatures during storage, transportation or application on crops, especially during hot weather events in the summer 53–55 . Thermal stress affects the efficacy of fungal formulations against insect pests by impairing conidial germination, 56,57 vegetative growth 58–60 and pathogenicity 61,62 . The selection of thermotolerant strains represents a potential strategy to overcome this limitation 57,63–66 .…”

“…[53][54][55] Thermal stress affects the efficacy of fungal formulations against insect pests by impairing conidial germination, 56,57 vegetative growth [58][59][60] and pathogenicity. 61,62 The selection of thermotolerant strains represents a potential strategy to overcome this limitation. 57,[63][64][65][66] Fungal tolerance to heat stress can also be improved by genetic engineering and by inducing mutations.…”