Infection with a novel polymycovirus enhances growth, conidiation and sensitivity to UV-B irradiation of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae

Metarhizium anisopliae is a well-studied entomopathogenic fungus that widely used in biological control programs. The presence of polymycoviruses this common, but their effects on fungal development and stress tolerance are not well understood. In study, we report the discovery novel double-stranded RNA virus, named polymycovirus 1 (MaPmV1), which comprises four dsRNAs ranging from 2.4 to 1.4 kbp length. Phylogenetic analysis revealed MaPmV1 belongs Polymycoviridae family. Biological comparison between MaPmV1-infected (Vi) -free (Vf) isogenic lines showed remarkably enhances growth rate conidiation host fungus. upregulation growth- conidiation-related genes Vi strains supports finding. addition, increases sensitivity UV-B irradiation, evidenced by downregulation DNA damage repair strains. However, does appear have any significant impact virulence M. . Furthermore, overexpression individual viral proteins did result phenotypic alterations, indicating MaPmV1-mediated changes related single protein. Overall, our findings suggest mycoviruses can be exploited enhance fungi, may lead improved conidium production large scale.