Monitoring the distribution of secondary metabolites produced by the entomogenous fungus Beauveria brongniartii with particular reference to oosporein

Abstract

Oosporein was the only major secondary metabolite produced by three commercial isolates of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria brongniartii in submerged cultures and on sterilised barley kernels. None of the other toxins (bassianin, beauvericin and tenellin) normally produced by Beauveria species were detected by sensitive HPLC and MS techniques. The maximum amount of oosporein produced in batch reactors was 270 mg l−1, after 4 days incubation, while that produced on sterilised barley kernels ranged between 2.0 and 3.2 mg kg−1, after 14 days incubation. The mean amount of oosporein detected in cockchafer larvae infected with B. brongniartii was 0.23 mg. Melocont®-Pilzgerste, a commercial product based on B. brongniartii, was not phytotoxic to Lepidium sativum and Phleum pratense nor were fungal metabolites detected in these indicator plants. No systemic effects of oosporein were observed in treated pasture turf maintained for several months in the greenhouse.