Phylogeny and species delimitations in the entomopathogenic genus Beauveria (Hypocreales, Ascomycota), including the description of B. peruviensis sp. nov.

Abstract

The genus Beauveria is considered a cosmopolitan anamorphic and teleomorphic genus of soilborne necrotrophic arthropod-pathogenic fungi that includes ecologically and economically important species. Species identification in Beauveria is difficult because of its structural simplicity and the lack of distinctive phenotypic variation. Therefore, the use of multi-locus sequence data is essential to establish robust species boundaries in addition to DNA-based species delimitation methods using genetic distance, coalescent, and genealogical concordance approaches (polyphasic approaches). In this regard, our study used multilocus phylogeny and five DNA-based methods to delimit species in Beauveria using three molecular makers. These polyphasic analyses allowed for the delimitation of 20–28 species in Beauveria, confirming cryptic diversity in five species (i.e. B. amorpha, B. bassiana, B. diapheromeriphila, and B. pseudobassiana) and supporting the description of B. peruviensis as a new taxon from northeastern Peru. The other five species were not evaluated as they did not have enough data (i.e. B. araneola, B. gryllotalpidicola, B. loeiensis, B. medogensis, and B. rudraprayagi). Our results demonstrate that the congruence among different methods in a polyphasic approach (e.g. genetic distance and coalescence methods) is more likely to show reliably supported species boundaries. Among the methods applied in this study, genetic distance, coalescent approaches, and multilocus phylogeny are crucial when establishing species boundaries in Beauveria.

Variability in virulence of Beauveria spp. soil isolates against Ostrinia nubilalis

“…There are available several commercial preparations based on these entomopathogenic fungi (Mascarin & Jaronski, 2016). The large genus Beauveria , according to recent studies, includes at least 28 species, most of which are distinguishable only genetically (Bustamante et al, 2019; Khonsanit et al, 2020; Rehner et al, 2011).…”

Integrated management of the coffee berry borer: A comparison of cultural, biological, and ethological control

“…every month due to the natural presence of the Beauveria sp. genus in the area (Bustamante et al 2019). On the other hand, low Beauveria sp.…”

“…The use of ethological control strategies, which consist of capturing adult insects with attractant traps, is a common, effective and easy method that greatly compliments a sanitary harvest (Acacio & Gil 2013;Aristizábal et al 2016;Damon 2000). Additionally, the use of biological controllers such as parasitoids, fungi and entomopathogenic nematodes have been widely studied and utilized (Aristizábal et al 1998;Aristizábal et al 2012;Bustamante et al 2019;Damon 2000;Dufour & Frérot 2008;Vega et al 2009). Overall, many studies done over time have reported on the efficiency of each control method (Damon 2000;Jaramillo et al 2006;Leiva-Espinoza et al 2019;Vega et al 2009).…”

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“…The taxonomy of these species, which are members of the genus Vasconcellea, has been mostly based on morphological characters and multilocus phylogeny, including detailed species descriptions and precise distribution maps [4,5,7,45]. However, the use of additional methodologies and data sets is recommended to establish wellsupported boundaries among species [17,21]. Accordingly, six molecular markers have been used to delimit species in the genus Vasconcellea using phylogeny and four DNA-based methods.…”

“…The additional PLOS ONE putative species identified with these methods mainly resulted from the split of V. chachapoyensis, V. pentalobis, and V. peruviensis with the markers ITS, psbA-trnH, and trnL-trnF. This might suggest that these species encompass cryptic lineages [17] as a consequence of the initial hybridization process, but these splits are not supported by the multilocus phylogeny and BPP analyses dismissing crypticism.…”