Biotechnology of Entomopathogenic Fungi

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungi in Agriculture and Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 1718

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), P.O. Box 3037, Lavras 37200-900, MG, Brazil
Interests: biological control; enzymes; latex; fungi; nematophagous fungi
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Entomopathogenic fungi are a group of microorganisms that infect insects, causing their death. They are a valuable tool for biological pest control as they are environmentally friendly and do not cause harm to the environment. These fungi produce metabolites and enzymes that play a fundamental role in the infection process of their targets. They are also used in biotechnological research aimed at developing new biopesticides. The biotechnological use of entomopathogenic fungi is a rapidly expanding area of research. Scientists are working to improve the effectiveness of fungi, increase their spectrum of action and reduce their production cost.

This Special Issue focuses on approaches related to the biotechnology of entomopathogenic fungi. This edition will include interdisciplinary strategies involving chemistry, biology and biotechnology.

The articles will cover several topics, from biological control, enzymes, metabolites, to transgenesis and modified organisms. All types of articles, such as original research, opinions and reviews are welcome.

Dr. Filippe Elias de Freitas Soares
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biological control
  • molecular biology
  • enzymes
  • secondary metabolites
  • omics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 3435 KiB  
Article
The Combination of Enzymes and Conidia of Entomopathogenic Fungi against Aphis gossypii Nymphs and Spodoptera frugiperda Larvae
by Juliana M. Ferreira, Éverton K. K. Fernandes, Jae Su Kim and Filippe Elias F. Soares
J. Fungi 2024, 10(4), 292; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof10040292 - 17 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1408
Abstract
The slow action of fungi is one of the biggest challenges in using entomopathogenic fungi. A promising alternative to reduce the time of action is to combine conidia with extracellular enzymes. This study aimed to characterize the production of Pr1 subtilisin protease and [...] Read more.
The slow action of fungi is one of the biggest challenges in using entomopathogenic fungi. A promising alternative to reduce the time of action is to combine conidia with extracellular enzymes. This study aimed to characterize the production of Pr1 subtilisin protease and lipases by Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae in different culture media and to evaluate the efficiency of the enzymatic treatment against Aphis gossypii and Spodoptera frugiperda. The isolates were cultivated in five different liquid cultures, and, after 7 days, the culture was filtered and centrifuged, and the activity of the Pr1 and lipases was measured. The fungi cultured in a Luria–Bertani broth medium had the highest activity of proteases and lipases. The mortality of A. gossypii nymphs treated with conidia 7 days after the treatment was 39% (JEF-410), 76.5% (JEF-492), 74.8% (ERL-836), and 70.9% (JEF-214). The B. bassiana JEF-410 supernatant combined with conidia increased the fungal virulence at day 5 and day 6 after treatment. When S. frugiperda larvae were treated with B. bassiana JEF-492 conidia combined with its supernatant, the time of infection was shorter compared to the larvae treated with conidia only. Once the supernatant was incubated at 37 °C, the relative activity decreased from 100% to 80% after 2 h and to 45% after 24 h. The results suggest that the supernatant of entomopathogenic fungi may be formulated and used as a biopesticide in an efficient strategy for the biological control of pests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotechnology of Entomopathogenic Fungi)
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