Laboratory evaluation of the virulence of Beauveria bassiana isolates to the sorghum shoot borer Chilo partellus Swinhoe (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and their characterization by RAPD-PCR

Beauveria bassiana has long been used as a mycopesticide. It has a wide host range; isolates have been reported to differ in host range and virulence to a given insect species. Identification of a molecular marker linked to a virulent phenotype to a target pest would be useful in screening for isolates effective against it. Twenty B. bassiana isolates were tested for their virulence to the second instar larvae of C. partellus in laboratory bioassays and their DNA fingerprints were generated by random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR). Three arbitrary categories of aggressiveness were chosen; isolates that caused >70%, between 70 and 40% and