Termites encounter a diverse array of potentially useful and harmful fungi in their subterranean habitats. These vary from symbiotic to harmful species with varying levels of virulence. How these hemiedaphic insects survive in habitats with infective fungi is not well understood. Possible mediation of olfactory signals in avoiding contact with entomopathogenic fungi has been explored by a numbe...

To identify the susceptibility of long-horned grasshoppers to entomopathogenic fungi, the effect of infection with the fungi Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) on food consumption by Uvarovistia zebra (Uvarov) (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) was investigated. Preliminary results showed...

Biotechnology Centre, Cranf ield University, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 OAL, UK The entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae and Paecilomyces farinosus were cultured on solid agar media containing different carbohydrate components (glycerol, glucose, trehalose or starch) at concentrations of < 142.7 g added carbon I-1 for 30 d at 25 "C. The water activity (a, ) of the medi...

Factors affecting the occurrence and distribution of entomopathogenic fungi in 244 soil samples collected from natural and cultivated areas in Spain were studied using an integrated approach based on univariate and multivariate analyses. Entomopathogenic fungi were isolated from 175 of the 244 (71.7%) soil samples, with only two species found, Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae. Of t...

Bed bugs Cimex lectularius L. were exposed to conidia (spores) of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae by feeding, aerosol spray, or contact with a treated surface. Feeding experiments demonstrated that bed bugs were innately susceptible to this fungus. However, only at 98% humidity were mortality rates high, regardless of whether bed bugs were sprayed with a fungal solution or co...

Within-host competition is an important factor in host-parasite relationships, yet most studies consider interactions involving only single parasite species. We investigated the interaction between a virulent obligate entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae, and a normally avirulent, opportunistic fungal pathogen, Aspergillus flavus, in their leaf-cutting ant host, Acrom...

Six Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin isolates were obtained from Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) and Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki in the U.S. and China. These isolates, plus the B. bassiana isolate 26037 from American Type Culture Collection that was isolated from Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say)) were compared against C. formosanus and R. flavipes in the laborat...

Laboratory soil bioassays were performed at economic field rates for in-furrow (3.85 x 10(6)spores/g dry soil) and broadcast (3.85 x 10(5)spores/g dry soil) applications with three isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae (F52, ATCC62176, and ARSEF5520) and one isolate of Beauveria bassiana (GHA). All isolates tested were infective to second instar Delia radicum (L.). The conditionally registered M. ...

Numerous secondary metabolites have been isolated from the insect pathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae, but the roles of these compounds as virulence factors in disease development are poorly understood. We targeted for disruption by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation a putative nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NPS) gene, MaNPS1. Four of six gene disruption mutants identified...

Strains of the entomopathogens Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin were screened for effectiveness against the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus (Shiraki). Biological control methods are being considered to augment current integrated pest management schemes that involve chemical baits and nonrepellent termiticides. In this...