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Multifaceted Beauveria bassiana and Other Insect-Related Fungi 2.0

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A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 4192

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Nicolás Pedrini

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Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata (INIBIOLP), National University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata 1900, Argentina
Interests: entomopathogenic fungi; insect immunity; fungus–insect interaction; gene expression; fungal secondary metabolites; virulence factors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Éverton Kort Kamp Fernandes

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Departamento de Biociências e Tecnologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil
Interests: entomopathogenic fungi; tolerance to abiotic factors; virulence factors; invertebrate pathology; ticks; biological control

Dr. Ivan M. Dubovskiy

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Head of Laboratory of Biological Plant Protection and Biotechnology, Novosibirsk State Agrarian University, Dobrolubova Str. 160, 630039 Novosibirsk, Russia
Interests: insect immunity; entomopathogenic fungi; detoxification and antioxidant systems; fungal virulence factors; coevolution of host–parasite systems; microevolution of insect defense reactions; melanization; redox balance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since Agostino Bassi first isolated the fungal pathogenic agent of the white muscardine in insects (later named as Beauveria bassiana in his honor), and Élie Metchnikoff cultivated Metarhizium anisopliae as a first approach to use fungi as pest control agents, many other entomopathogenic fungi have been studied over the last two centuries. Fungus–insect interactions are known to drive pathogenic cycles that usually culminate in killing the hosts; however, these fungi are also facultative saprophytes in the soil and/or the rhizosphere. B. bassiana can also develop endophytic relationships with plants, conferring a level of protection to the host plant from the insects that feed on them. In addition to invertebrate pathology, B. bassiana also has diverse applications in a range of other disciplines, including as an important whole cell eukaryotic biocatalyst, and together with other entomopathogenic fungi remains a reservoir for the discovery of numerous secondary metabolites with bioactive functions.

This Special Issue will focus on all aspects of the interaction between either B. bassiana or other insect-related fungi and their wide range of hosts, including arthropods and plants, as well as on the expression of secondary metabolites, such as toxins, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative molecules, plus other aspects regarding their catalyst role in biotransformation and bioremediation.

Dr. Nicolás Pedrini
Prof. Dr. Éverton Kort Kamp Fernandes
Dr. Ivan M. Dubovskiy
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

entomopathogenic fungi
fungi–host interaction
endophytic fungi
biotransformation
bioremediation
secondary metabolites

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 5725 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Volatile Fingerprint Mediates Yeast-to-Mycelial Conversion in Two Strains of Beauveria bassiana Exhibiting Varied Virulence

by Arturo Ramírez-Ordorica, José Alberto Patiño-Medina, Víctor Meza-Carmen and Lourdes Macías-Rodríguez

J. Fungi 2023, 9(12), 1135; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9121135 - 24 Nov 2023

Viewed by 925

Abstract

Beauveria bassiana is a dimorphic and entomopathogenic fungus with different ecological roles in nature. In pathogenic fungi, yeast-to-mycelial conversion, which is controlled by environmental factors, is required for virulence. Here, we studied the effects of different stimuli on the morphology of two B. bassiana strains and compared the toxicities of culture filtrates. In addition, we explored the role of volatiles as quorum sensing-like signals during dimorphic transition. The killing assays in Caenorhabditis elegans (Nematoda: Rhabditidae) showed that strain AI2 isolated from a mycosed insect cadaver had higher toxicity than strain AS5 isolated from soil. Furthermore, AI2 showed earlier yeast-to-mycelial switching than AS5. However, an increase in inoculum size induced faster yeast-to-mycelium conversion in AS5 cells, suggesting a cell-density-dependent phenomenon. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses showed that the fingerprint of the volatiles was strain-specific; however, during the morphological switching, an inverse relationship between the abundance of total terpenes and 3-methylbutanol was observed in both strains. Fungal exposure to 3-methylbutanol retarded the yeast-to-mycelium transition. Hence, this study provides evidence that volatile compounds are associated with critical events in the life cycle of B. bassiana. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifaceted Beauveria bassiana and Other Insect-Related Fungi 2.0)

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11 pages, 1020 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Potential of Metarhizium anisopliae Blastospores to Control Aedes aegypti Larvae in the Field

by Simone Azevedo Gomes, Aline Teixeira Carolino, Thais Berçot Pontes Teodoro, Gerson Adriano Silva, Ricardo de Oliveira Barbosa Bitencourt, Carlos Peres Silva, Abeer M. Alkhaibari, Tariq M. Butt and Richard Ian Samuels

J. Fungi 2023, 9(7), 759; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9070759 - 18 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1207

Abstract

Entomopathogenic fungi are promising as an environmentally benign alternative to chemical pesticides for mosquito control. The current study investigated the virulence of Metarhizium anisopliae blastospores against Aedes aegypti under both laboratory and field conditions. Virulence bioassays of conidia and blastospores were conducted in the laboratory, while field simulation bioassays were conducted under two conditions: totally shaded (TS) or partially shaded (PS). In the first bioassay (zero h), the larvae were added to the cups shortly after the preparation of the blastospores, and in the subsequent assays, larvae were added to the cups 3, 6, 9, and 12 days later. The survival of the larvae exposed to blastospores in the laboratory was zero on day two, as was the case for the larvae exposed to conidia on the sixth day. Under TS conditions, zero survival was seen on the third day of the bioassay. Under PS conditions, low survival rates were recorded on day 7. For the persistence bioassay under PS conditions, low survival rates were also observed. Metarhizium anisopliae blastospores were more virulent to Ae. aegypti larvae than conidia in the laboratory. Blastospores remained virulent under field simulation conditions. However, virulence rapidly declined from the third day of field bioassays. Formulating blastospores in vegetable oil could protect these propagules when applied under adverse conditions. This is the first time that blastospores have been tested against mosquito larvae under simulated field conditions, and the current study could be the basis for the development of a new biological control agent. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifaceted Beauveria bassiana and Other Insect-Related Fungi 2.0)

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15 pages, 2098 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cuticular Lipids as a First Barrier Defending Ixodid Ticks against Fungal Infection

by Cárita S. Ribeiro-Silva, Elen R. Muniz, Valesca H. Lima, Cíntia C. Bernardo, Walquíria Arruda, Rosane N. Castro, Patrícia S. Gôlo, Isabele C. Angelo and Éverton K. K. Fernandes

J. Fungi 2022, 8(11), 1177; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8111177 - 08 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1317

Abstract

The chemical composition of tick cuticles acts as a barrier to pathogens and may limit infection by entomopathogenic fungi. This study characterized the cuticular neutral lipids (NL) and hydrocarbons (HCs) of four ixodid ticks that are widely distributed in Brazil. HC extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and used to challenge Beauveria bassiana IP361 and Metarhizium robertsii IP146; the effect of cuticular extracts in fungal growth were evaluated by disk diffusion and conidial viability assays. In addition, conidial germination on the tick cuticle was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, and NL from ticks treated with fungi were assessed by thin layer chromatography. Six HCs were exclusively identified in Amblyomma sculptum. Additionally, cuticle extracts from Dermacentor nitens and A. sculptum inhibited the growth of M. robertsii IP146 and reduced conidial germination of B. bassiana IP361 to 70% and 49%, respectively; the same extracts also produced cytotoxic effects, with conidial death above 30% and 60%. Electron micrographs showed a delayed germination of conidia incubated for 48 h or 72 h on D. nitens and A. sculptum. The lipid profile of A. sculptum treated with fungi was not significantly altered; triacylglycerol was not detected in the cuticle extracts of any other tick species. Finally, A. sculptum and D. nitens cuticles have lipid components that may limit the development of M. robertsii. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifaceted Beauveria bassiana and Other Insect-Related Fungi 2.0)

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