Isolation and identification of native Chilean entomopathogenic fungi and their potential for the control of Drosophila suzukii.

Drosophila suzukii is an invasive pest of berries and other soft-skinned fruits, was first detected in Chile in 2017, and has since spread over 2,800 km from north to south. Sustainable control of the spotted-wing drosophila (SWD) is essential due the negative attitude of the consumers toward the excessive use of insecticides. During a survey in Chile for biological control agents, thirty-two isolates of entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) were isolated from mycotized insects and soil samples, identified through sequence analysis, and tested against D.

Natural infection of Chiromyzinae larvae (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) in southern Chile by Tolypocladium valdiviae sp. nov.

A new species from the fungal genus Tolypocladium (Hypocreales: Ophiocordycipitaceae) that infects Stratiomyidae larva from the genus Hylorops is described: Tolypocladium valdiviae Gallardo-Pillancari, Montalva & González. The description is based on both genomic data and morphological characteristics. The sexual stage of T.

Clonostachys spp., natural mosquito antagonists, and their prospects for biological control of Aedes aegypti.

Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) is an important vector of arboviruses in the tropics and subtropics. New control strategies based on natural enemies such as entomopathogenic fungi are of utmost importance, and the present study reports the first isolation of Clonostachys spp. (Hypocreales: Bionectriaceae) from mosquitoes and their activity against A.

Occurrence of entomopathogenic hypocrealean fungi in mosquitoes and their larval habitats in Central Brazil, and activity against Aedes aegypti.

Collecting entomopathogenic fungi associated with mosquitoes and studies on their activity against mosquito developmental stages will improve the understanding of their potential as agents to control important mosquito vectors. Twenty-one strains of entomopathogenic fungi affecting mosquitoes in Central Brazil were studied: 7 of Beauveria bassiana, 7 of Metarhizium humberi, 3 of M. anisopliae, 2 of Cordyceps sp.

Activity Against Musca domestica of Hypocrealean Fungi Isolated from Culicids in Central Brazil and Formulated in Vermiculite.

Musca domestica L. is a cosmopolitan nuisance of high sanitary importance. Entomopathogenic fungi are innovative and attractive tools for integrated control of the housefly to overcome insufficient levels of control caused by increasing resistance of this pest against chemical insecticides.

Simple method to detect and to isolate entomopathogenic fungi (Hypocreales) from mosquito larvae.

Entomopathogenic fungi are important agents for mosquito vector control. We report on the utility of a simple method to detect fungi on living larvae of Aedes aegypti that had been exposed to a fungal entomopathogen. Four species of the hypocrealean genera Metarhizium, Beauveria, Tolypocladium and Culicinomyces, known for their larvicidal activity against mosquito species, were tested.

Microbial Control of Invasive Forest Pests with Entomopathogenic Fungi: A Review of the Current Situation.

The health of the forestlands of the world is impacted by a number of insect pests and some of them cause significant damage with serious economic and environmental implications. Whether it is damage of the North American cypress aphid in South America and Africa, or the destruction of maple trees in North America by the Asian long horned beetle, invasive forest pests are a major problem in many parts of the world. Several studies explored microbial control opportunities of invasive forest pests with entomopathogenic bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and some are successfully utilized as a part of integrated forest pest management programs around the world.

Pythium insidiosum isolated from infected mosquito larvae in central Brazil.

Pythium insidiosum is a straminopilan pathogen causing life threatening infections in mammals inhabiting temperate, tropical and subtropical areas of the world. The concept that P. insidiosum could also infect mosquitoes was mentioned earlier by investigators conducting phylogenetic analysis on available P.

Transcriptomic insight into pathogenicity-associated factors of Conidiobolus obscurus, an obligate aphid-pathogenic fungus belonging to Entomopthoromycota.

Background: Conidiobolus obscurus is a widespread fungal entomopathogen with aphid biocontrol potential. This study focused on a de novo transcriptomic analysis of C. obscurus.

Metarhizium alvesii sp. nov.: A new member of the Metarhizium anisopliae species complex.

A strain within the Metarhizium anisopliae species complex was isolated in 2009 from a soil sample in a banana plantation in the municipality of Quixeré, Northeastern region of Brazil. Previous studies showed that this insect-pathogenic strain does not fit with any current taxon within the M. anisopliae species complex, as determined by both genomic and by mass spectrometric analyses.

Conidiobolus macrosporus (Entomophthorales), a mosquito pathogen in Central Brazil.

A new fungal pathogen of Culicinae (Diptera: Culicidae) adults, Conidiobolus macrosporus (Entomophthorales: Ancylistaceae), was detected and isolated during a survey of mosquito pathogens close to the city of Aruanã, Goiás State, in December 2014. The morphological characteristics of C. macrosporus are presented, and reasons for some uncertainty about this identification are discussed.

A natural fungal infection of a sylvatic cockroach with Metarhizium blattodeae sp. nov., a member of the M. flavoviride species complex.

A wild, forest-dwelling cockroach from the subfamily Ectobiidae (order Blattodea) in a nature reserve in Cavalcante, in the state of Goiás, Brazil, was found to be infected by a new, genetically distinct species in the Metarhizium flavoviride species complex that we describe here as Metarhizium blattodeae. The status of this fungus as a new species is supported by both multigenic sequence comparisons and protein profiles generated by MALDI-TOF (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight) mass spectrometry. This is one of the first reports of a naturally occurring fungal pathogen affecting any sylvatic (forest-dwelling) cockroach from any part of the world.

First report of Leptolegnia chapmanii (Peronosporomycetes: Saprolegniales) affecting mosquitoes in central Brazil.

Numerous isolates of an oomycete 'fungus', Leptolegnia chapmanii, are reported from Brazil for the first time. This aquatic pathogen was baited with Aedes aegypti sentinel larvae from stagnant, temporary bodies of water in selected locations under secondary tropical forest in and near the central Brazilian city of Goiânia and from more distant sites in the western and northern regions of the state of Goiás. Isolates were identified based on their morphological and developmental characters, comparative sequence data for the ITS and TEF loci, as well as their rapid activity against A.

Pandora bullata (Entomophthoromycota: Entomophthorales) affecting calliphorid flies in central Brazil.

Fungi are where one finds them, and if one seeks fungal pathogens affecting flies, then a garbage dump may be an ideal place to find both persistent, abundant fly populations and their fungal pathogens. An obvious fungal epizootic affecting the oriental latrine fly, Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae), was observed over several days in mid-February 2015 at the local garbage dump adjacent to the city of Cavalcante, northern Goiás. This site harbored large populations of both C.

Molecular differentiation of recently described Neozygites osornensis (Neozygitales: Neozygitaceae) from two morphologically similar species.

Neozygites osornensis is a recently described aphid pathogen characterized by morphological criteria and compared with two morphologically close taxa, Neozygites cinarae and Neozygites turbinata. Neozygites species are traditionally classified based on morphological characteristics and molecular data that would confirm these taxa and permit investigation of their phylogenetic relationships are scarce. In this study, we successfully evaluated a genetic variation within partial 18S rDNA sequences among the three Neozygites species and supported the recent erection of N.