Abstract
Multiple genera of hypocrealean fungi infect and kill a wide variety of arthropod pests. Several formulations based on these soilborne fungi are commercially available as biopesticides for controlling urban, garden, greenhouse, and agricultural pests. These fungi are an important part of integrated pest management strategies to maintain pest control efficacy, reduce the risk of chemical insecticide resistance, and offer environmentally sustainable pest suppression. While the entomopathogenic or pest management role of these fungi is well documented, several studies in the past decade or two have provided insights into their relationship with plants, soil, and plant pathogens, and their additional roles in promoting plant growth and health. This review highlights these endophytic, mycorrhiza-like, and disease-antagonizing roles of entomopathogenic fungi.
Highlights
The hypocrealean fungi Beauveria bassiana, Hirsutella thompsonii, Isaria fumosorosea, Metarhizium anisopliae, M. brunneum and M. robertsii are known as entomopathogens of a wide range of arthropod pests
Based on recent studies and supporting data, B. bassiana, Metarhizium spp., and other hypocrealean fungi are considered as beneficial microbes that can improve soil structure and microbiome, probiotics that competitively displace harmful microorganisms, mycorrhiza-like fungi that improve nutrient and water absorption, and plant vaccines that induce systemic resistance
There appears to be a complex network of communication among these organisms, and several examples discussed in this document explain how beneficial microbes help plants withstand biotic and abiotic stressors and how Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) have a similar relationship with plants
Summary
The hypocrealean fungi Beauveria bassiana, Hirsutella thompsonii, Isaria fumosorosea, Metarhizium anisopliae, M. brunneum and M. robertsii are known as entomopathogens of a wide range of arthropod pests. The fungus multiplies, invades the host tissues, emerges from the host, and produces more spores to continue the infection cycle While this entomopathogenic role of these fungi is well known, research in the past few years has expanded the understanding of fungi such as B. bassiana and its interaction with soil, plants, and other microbes in the environment [1]. This research has helped us understand how these fungi play an important role in promoting root development, plant growth, and health through a mycorrhiza-like and endophytic relationship with plants, inducing systemic resistance, and antagonizing plant pathogens These non-pesticidal properties are critical in the fungal evolution, enabling them to survive in the soil and plant environments in the absence of an arthropod host. An increased understanding of these roles will help promote the use of EPF for sustainable food production
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