Different strategies to kill the host presented by Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana

Studies conducted over the last decades have shown the potential of entomopathogenic fungi for the biocontrol of some insect pests. They infect their host through the cuticle, so they do not need to be ingested to be effective. These fungi also secrete secondary metabolites and proteins that are toxic to insect pests. In this context, we analyzed the pathogenicity of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschn.) strains IBCB 384 and IBCB 425 and Beauveria bassiana (Bals.-Criv.) Vuill. strains E 1764 and E 3158 against Galleria mellonella (Linn.) larvae, during pre-invasion and post-invasion phases. The results showed that strains of M. anisopliae can be considered the most virulent in pre-invasion phase on G. mellonella especially IBCB 384, while strains of B. bassiana were in the post-invasion phase, especially the strain E 1764. During in vivo development as well as for production of toxic serum, the strain B. bassiana E 3158 was the most virulent. Different fungal growth (or toxin) strategies were observed for studied strains. The M. anisopliae strain IBCB 425 prioritizes the growth strategy, while the strain IBCB 384 and B. bassiana strains E 1764 and E 3158 have a toxic strategy. All strains have pathogenicity against G. mellonella, indicating their possible use for biocontrol.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author