Abstract
ABSTRACTMetarhizium Sorokīn (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) is a genus of facultative parasites of insects found in soils from various environments and is used for pest management. Understanding the habitat selection of Metarhizium spp. is critical to improve the efficacy and persistence of these fungi as microbial insecticides. This study sought to determine the habitat preferences of Metarhizium spp. in Japan. We identified 302 isolates of Metarhizium spp. as eight species by a combination of PCR–RFLP and phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences. M. pingshaense was the predominant species in Japan and was most frequently isolated from both forest and agricultural environments. On the other hand, M. brunneum and M. pemphigi were comparatively restricted to forest environments. A similar species association was detected in a small area that was intensively investigated, where 7 species including 14 genotypes were isolated from soil. The results of this study have revealed different habitat preferences among Metarhizium spp. in Japan.
Highlights
Metarhizium Sorokīn is one of the most commercially important entomopathogenic fungi, and some isolates of this genus have been used as biological control in pest management against locusts, termites, spittlebugs, and white grubs (Zimmermann 1993)
Tachibana-yama area in Table 1 were separately analysed), fungi identified as Metarhizium spp. by morphology were detected from 129 soil samples
Soil isolates of Metarhizium spp. in Japan from a previous study of Nishi et al (2011) and additional soil isolates were analysed in terms of species composition and habitat preferences
Summary
Metarhizium Sorokīn is one of the most commercially important entomopathogenic fungi, and some isolates of this genus have been used as biological control in pest management against locusts, termites, spittlebugs, and white grubs (Zimmermann 1993). L.), the most common group in this genus, has been detected in soils from various environments and has been isolated from over 200 species of insects (Zimmermann 1993). L. were associated with specific habitat type preferences rather than host insects. They showed that the genotypic groups of M. anisopliae s. L. in eastern Canada were linked to habitat type rather than to insect hosts; isolates from open field habitats (OG1) belonged to a different genetic group compared with those from forest soil samples (OG2). One isolates each from OG1 and OG2 were later identified as a different species, M. robertsii (Mr) and M. brunneum (Mb), respectively, by the recent taxonomy of Metarhizium (Bischoff et al 2009). Mr and Mb in the same area were preferentially detected from the rhizospheres of wildflowers and trees, respectively (Wyrebek et al 2011)
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