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Comparative Account of Generalist and Specialist Species of the Entomopathogenic Fungus, Metarhizium

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Book cover Biocontrol of Lepidopteran Pests

Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 43))

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Abstract

Fungi belonging to the genus Metarhizium are one of the most versatile entomopathogens infecting a wide range of insects and causing natural epizootics in the agricultural fields. But not all the species of this genus have a wide host range. M. anisopliae, for instance, has a very broad host range with a potential to infect nearly 100 insect species, whereas its close relative M. acridum has a very narrow host range infecting only locusts and grasshoppers. Recent molecular advancements in the field of genomics and transcriptomics have revealed substantial differences in these two relatives with respect to their host range. M. anisopliae produces large number of diverse secreted proteins when compared to M. acridum which allows it to infect a wider range of hosts. Unlike M. anisopliae, M. acridum lacks the genes which encode for the toxic secondary metabolite, destruxin, which suppresses the innate immunity of insects during the fungal pathogenesis and aids the fungus to take over the host body. Nevertheless, it was recently shown that the host range of M. acridum can be expanded by transforming it with Mest1 gene, encoding an esterase, from M. anisopliae.

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Acknowledgements

KSS is grateful to SERB, Govt. of India, for financial assistance through the Fast Track Young Scientist scheme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, 201303, Uttar Pradesh, India

    K. Sowjanya Sree & Hemesh Joshi

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  1. K. Sowjanya Sree
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  2. Hemesh Joshi
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Correspondence to K. Sowjanya Sree .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    K. Sowjanya Sree

  2. Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ajit Varma

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Sree, K.S., Joshi, H. (2015). Comparative Account of Generalist and Specialist Species of the Entomopathogenic Fungus, Metarhizium . In: Sree, K., Varma, A. (eds) Biocontrol of Lepidopteran Pests. Soil Biology, vol 43. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14499-3_7

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