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A revision of Verticillium section Prostrata. IV. The genus Lecanicillium and Simplicillium gen. nov. Nova Hedwig

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... Conidia length was in a range of 1.5-2.3 µm [43]. Schizophyllum commune mycelia OR789623 (100%) revealed both narrow and wide hyphal filaments, which were hyaline and septate. ...
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In the context of bio-deterioration of cultural heritage, the Lavandula angustifolia Mill. plant proves to be of interest for a green approach to the preservation of art manufacts on organic media. Supercritical CO2 fluid extraction (SFE) was utilized to obtain both lavender essential oil (E2LS3) and hydrolate (E2LS3A), while ultrasound assisted maceration in n-hexane:ethanol (99:1, v:v) provided LA2/1 extract. The extracts, all chemically characterized by UHPLC-HRMS and GC–MS analyses, were screened for their antifungal capability towards six fungi isolated from the plywood support of Haim Steinbach's contemporary artwork "Un-color becomes alter ego #2" (1984). To this purpose, disk diffusion method was applied on both mycelium and conidial suspensions to unravel whether the inhibitory activity affects the growth of fungi at different life cycle stages. The micro-atmosphere method was also explored to assess the response of fungal growth in a saturated atmosphere. Data acquired highlighted that SFE-obtained lavender essential oil, whose oxygenated monoterpene part mostly accounting for terpinene-4-ol, borneol, linalool, camphor, and 1,8-cineole, proves to be a dose- and time-dependent inhibitor of fungal growth. It has also been shown that exposure to the oil vapor phase is more effective at very low dose levels. The promising results allow us to hypothesize the use of the essential oil for treating fungal colonization by exposure to its volatile components in a modified atmosphere environment, with no direct contact with the artwork. Graphical abstract
... H. vastatrix is attacked by a fungal hyperparasite, Lecanicillium lecanii (Zimm.) Zare and Gams (Zare & Gams, 2001), which can play a role in the top-down regulation of coffee leaf rust (Perfecto et al., 2014;Vandermeer et al., 2009;Zewdie et al., 2021). Lecanicillium lecanii is an ascomycete fungal parasite that attacks fungal plant pathogens in several parts of the world Vandermeer et al., 2009) and is common in the native range of Coffea arabica in southwestern Ethiopia . ...
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Natural enemies of plant pathogens might play an important role in controlling plant disease levels in natural and agricultural systems. Yet, plant pathogen–natural enemy interactions might be sensitive to climatic changes. Understanding the relationship between climate, plant pathogens and their natural enemies is thus important for developing climate‐resilient, sustainable agriculture. To this aim, we recorded shade cover, daily minimum and maximum temperature, relative humidity, coffee leaf rust and its hyperparasite at 58 sites in southwestern Ethiopia during the dry and wet season for 2 years. Coffee leaf rust severity was positively related to the maximum temperature. Hyperparasite severity was higher when the minimum temperature was low (i.e. in places with cold night temperatures). While canopy cover did not have a direct effect on rust severity, it reduced rust severity indirectly by lowering the maximum temperature. Canopy cover had a direct positive effect on the hyperparasite severity during one surveying period. Synthesis and applications. Our findings highlight that coffee leaf rust and its hyperparasite are both affected by shade cover and temperature, but in different ways. On the one hand, these niche differences lead to the worrying prediction that levels of coffee leaf rust will increase, and its hyperparasite will decrease, with climate change. On the other hand, these niche differences between coffee leaf rust and its hyperparasite provide opportunities to develop strategies to manage the environment (such as shade cover and microclimate) in such a way that the rust is disfavoured and the hyperparasite is favoured.
... S . lamellicola is known to be a candidate entomopathogenic fungus for the biological control of ticks and scale insects ( Zare and Gams , 2001 ) , while S . lanosoniveum has been isolated from Proctolaelaps sp . ...
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We investigated the potential of entomopathogenic hypocrealean fungi that naturally occur in or on adult mosquitoes for use as biocontrol agents of vector mosquitoes. The fungi were isolated from wild mosquitoes collected in Japan and Burkina Faso using two isolation methods (with and without surface sterilization). Detected fungal species included Beauveria bassiana sensu lato, Isaria spp., Paecilomyces spp., Lecanicillium spp., and Simplicillium spp. These isolates were used in bioassays against adult female Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes. The median survival time ranged from 5.8 to 14.9 d (control, 17.0 d). Reduced survival times were observed in the isolates from surface-sterilized mosquitoes from Japan, with the isolate B. bassiana s.l. 60-2 exhibiting the highest virulence. This study indicates that adult mosquitoes are naturally infected with various entomopathogenic hypocrealean fungi, and that some of these isolates have the potential for use as fungal pesticides to control vector mosquitoes.
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The total mortality of the leaf-miner horse-chestnut pest, Cameraria ohridella, collected in nature, and the mortality associated with mycoses were assessed under laboratory conditions in stages: for eggs mortality rates of 9.78% and 61.97% were found, respectively; for caterpillars, 45.25% and 5.59%, respectively; and for pupae 21.22% and 100%, respectively. At the egg stage, Cladosporus cladosporioides caused mycosis most often (27% of all mycoses); at the caterpillar stage there was no pronounced predominant fungus species; at the pupal stage both Cordyceps fumosorosea and Beauveria bassiana (32% and 31%, respectively) were most dominant; whereas at the adult stage Lecanicillum aphanocladii (43%) were most dominant. C. ohridella moths remained the most vulnerable during the pupal and caterpillar stages. Maximum diversity of fungi associated with the leaf-miner moth was reached during the period of development inside the chestnut leaf (Shannon–Wiener index—H′ = 2.608 at the caterpillar stage, H′ = 2.619 at the pupal stage), while the minimum was reached in the adult stage (H′ = 1.757). In the caterpillar and pupa stages, saprophytic fungi were most often recorded. Comparative laboratory tests revealed novel properties of the fungus L. aphanocladii, its effectiveness as the leaf-miner moth‘s entomopathogen and its suitability for field application trials while developing environment-friendly methods for horse-chestnut pest control.
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Guthega skinks have been listed as critically endangered and are considered particularly vulnerable to extinction because of their isolation and restricted distribution. There is no information on their captive husbandry, or the diseases that affect them. Cutaneous and systemic mycosis from infection with Lecanicillium spp. was diagnosed in a captive colony of Guthega skinks (Liopholis guthega). Infection resulted in the death of five lizards. Diagnosis of infection was confirmed using a combination of histopathology, fungal culture and DNA sequencing from all affected animals. An additional four similarly affected individuals were successfully treated with a combination of voriconazole (10 mg/kg PO once daily) and shallow baths of benzalkonium chloride and polyhexamethylene biguanide hydrochloride (F10) (1 : 250, 20 min once daily). This is the first report of Lecanicillium spp. infection in reptiles. © 2015 Australian Veterinary Association.
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ABSTRACT — A survey to determine population trends and entomopathogenic fungi associated with the red palm mite (RPM), Raoiella indica, was conducted in Trinidad, Antigua, St. Kitts and Nevis and Dominica. RPM population density was evaluated by sampling a total of ten coconut palms per site in Antigua, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, and Trinidad (Manzanilla and Icacos). Mites from the four islands were either surface sterilized or left unsterilized before being cultured on Tap Water Agar (TWA). A total of 318 fungal colonies were retrieved. A further 96 mites from Dominica were kept on sterile moist filter paper in a humidity chamber and a further 85 colonies were isolated. Based on morphological observations of all 403 isolates, a sample consisting of 32 colonies (8 %) was sent for identification at CABI-UK. Of the 27 fungi positively identified, 15 isolates belonged to the genera Cladosporium, three to Simplicillium spp., and one to Penicillium. Other fungi genera with limited or no entomopathogenic potential included: Aspergillus, Cochliobolus, Fusarium, Pestalotiopsis and Pithomyces. The results show a potential use of entomopathogenic fungi for population management of the red palm mite in the Caribbean region. KEYWORDS — biological control; management; Caribbean region
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Background The fungus Pochonia chlamydosporia parasitizes nematode eggs and has become one of the most promising biological control agents (BCAs) for plant-parasitic nematodes, which are major agricultural pests that cause tremendous economic losses worldwide. The complete mitochondrial (mt) genome is expected to open new avenues for understanding the phylogenetic relationships and evolution of the invertebrate-pathogenic fungi in Hypocreales.ResultsThe complete mitogenome sequence of P. chlamydosporia is 25,615 bp in size, containing the 14 typical protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, an intronic ORF coding for a putative ribosomal protein (rps3) and a set of 23 transfer RNA genes (trn) which recognize codons for all amino acids. Sequence similarity studies and syntenic gene analyses show that 87.02% and 58.72% of P. chlamydosporia mitogenome sequences match 90.50% of Metarhizium anisopliae sequences and 61.33% of Lecanicillium muscarium sequences with 92.38% and 86.04% identities, respectively. A phylogenetic tree inferred from 14 mt proteins in Pezizomycotina fungi supports that P. chlamydosporia is most closely related to the entomopathogenic fungus M. anisopliae. The invertebrate-pathogenic fungi in Hypocreales cluster together and clearly separate from a cluster comprising plant-pathogenic fungi (Fusarium spp.) and Hypocrea jecorina. A comparison of mitogenome sizes shows that the length of the intergenic regions or the intronic regions is the major size contributor in most of mitogenomes in Sordariomycetes. Evolutionary analysis shows that rps3 is under positive selection, leading to the display of unique evolutionary characteristics in Hypocreales. Moreover, the variability of trn distribution has a clear impact on gene order in mitogenomes. Gene rearrangement analysis shows that operation of transposition drives the rearrangement events in Pezizomycotina, and most events involve in trn position changes, but no rearrangement was found in Clavicipitaceae.Conclusions We present the complete annotated mitogenome sequence of P. chlamydosporia. Based on evolutionary and phylogenetic analyses, we have determined the relationships between the invertebrate-pathogenic fungi in Hypocreales. The invertebrate-pathogenic fungi in Hypocreales referred to in this paper form a monophyletic group sharing a most recent common ancestor. Our rps3 and trn gene order results also establish a foundation for further exploration of the evolutionary trajectory of the fungi in Hypocreales.
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Fruiting bodies similar to those of the ascomycete fungi Podostroma cornu-damae and Cordyceps militaris were collected from Mt. Seunghak in Busan, Korea on August 21, 2012. The fruiting bodies were cylindrical, with tapered ends and golden red in color. The fruiting bodies contained abundant conidiophores bearing single-celled conidia, but no perithecia or asci. Pure culture of the fungal isolates was obtained through single-spore isolation. Analyses of morphological characteristics, including conidia shape, and phylogenetic traits, using internal transcribed spacer sequences, showed that these isolates belonged to the species Simplicillium lanosoniveum. Although this fungal species is known to be mycoparasitic, the isolates obtained in this study were unable to infect fungi. However, silkworms (Bombyx mori) inoculated with the fungal isolates died during the larval or pupal stages, as has been shown for the strongly entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. This study is the first report of the entomopathogenicity of S. lanosoniveum and indicates its potential for use in biological control of insects.
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Citrus greening or Huanglongbing (HLB) is caused by the infection of Candidatus Liberibacter spp. in citrus plants. Since Asian citrus psyllid is the primary vector of this bacterial pathogen, the spread of HLB can be mitigated by suppressing Asian citrus psyllid populations in citrus groves using entomopathogens. To expand the current data on entomopathogens infecting Asian citrus psyllids, we isolated and characterized three different entomopathogens. Strains ZJLSP07, ZJLA08, and ZJLP09 infected the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, in Huangyan citrus groves. Based on molecular and morphological analyses, two were identified as Lecanicillium attenuatum and Lecanicillium psalliotae, and the third was recognized as an unidentified species of the genus, Lecanicillium. The corrected mortalities caused by strains ZJLSP07, ZJLA08 were 100% at 7 days post-inoculation, while by ZJLP09 complete mortality occurred at 6 d after inoculation, with 1.0×10(8) conidia/ml at 25 °C and a relative humidity of 90% in the laboratory. Under the same condition, the corrected mortalities caused by strains ZJLSP07, ZJLA08 and ZJLP09 were 100, 92.55 and 100%, respectively at 9 days post-inoculation in the greenhouse. Our findings also revealed that these fungal strains infected D. citri using hyphae that penetrated deep into the insect tissues. Further, all three strains secreted the enzymes proteinases, chitinases and lipases with a potential to destroy insect tissues. Interestingly, strain ZJLP09 had an earlier invasion time and the highest levels of enzyme activities when compared to the other two strains. These findings have expanded the existing pool of entomopathogenic fungi that infect D. citri and can be potentially used for the management of D. citri populations. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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A survey to determine population trends and entomopathogenic fungi associated with the red palm mite (RPM), Raoiella indica, was conducted in Trinidad, Antigua, St. Kitts and Nevis and Dominica. RPM population density was evaluated by sampling a total of ten coconut palms per site in Antigua, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, and Trinidad (Manzanilla and Icacos). Mites from the four islands were either surface sterilized or left unsterilized before being cultured on Tap Water Agar (TWA). A total of 318 fungal colonies were retrieved. A further 96 mites from Dominica were kept on sterile moist filter paper in a humidity chamber and a further 85 colonies were isolated. Based on morphological observations of all 403 isolates, a sample consisting of 32 colonies (8 %) was sent for identification at CABI-UK. Of the 27 fungi positively identified, 15 isolates belonged to the genera Cladosporium, three to Simplicillium spp., and one to Penicillium. Other fungi genera with limited or no entomopathogenic potential included: Aspergillus, Cochliobolus, Fusarium, Pestalotiopsis and Pithomyces. The results show a potential use of entomopathogenic fungi for population management of the red palm mite in the Caribbean region.
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