Fungi of entomopathogenic potential in Chytridiomycota and Blastocladiomycota, and in fungal allies of the Oomycota and Microsporidia

Abstract

The relationship between entomopathogenic fungi and their insect hosts is a classic example of the co-evolutionary arms race between pathogen and target host. The present review describes the entomopathogenic potential of Chytridiomycota and Blastocladiomycota fungi, and two groups of fungal allies: Oomycota and Microsporidia. The Oomycota (water moulds) are considered as a model biological control agent of mosquito larvae. Due to their shared ecological and morphological similarities, they had long been considered a part of the fungal kingdom; however, phylogenetic studies have since placed this group within the Straminipila. The Microsporidia are parasites of economically-important insects, including grasshoppers, lady beetles, bumblebees, colorado potato beetles and honeybees. They have been found to display some fungal characteristics, and phylogenetic studies suggest that they are related to fungi, either as a basal branch or sister group. The Blastocladiomycota and Chytridiomycota, named the lower fungi, historically were described together; however, molecular phylogenetic and ultrastructural research has classified them in their own phylum. They are considered parasites of ants, and of the larval stages of black flies, mosquitoes and scale insects.

Metagenomics of the midgut microbiome of Rhipicephalus microplus from China

“…The phylum Microsporidia comprises single-celled eukaryotic obligate intracellular parasites that can infect insects (e.g. Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae ), fish, mammals, and even humans with immune deficiency diseases [ 76 ]. When microsporidia infect humans [ 77 ], they can cause diarrhea, myositis, keratitis, bronchitis, and encephalitis [ 78 ].…”

Using genomics to understand the mechanisms of virulence and drug resistance in fungal pathogens

“…In addition, they are a threat to food crops [2] and other ecosystems, where fungal outbreaks have brought several species to the brink of extinction [3]. Fungal pathogens belong to diverse lineages of the fungal tree of life, including microsporidia, ascomycotina, basidiomycotina and mucoromycotina [4][5][6][7]. In addition, the set of species that are pathogenic to a given organism can be evolutionarily distant and have close non-pathogenic relatives, indicating that virulence has emerged multiple times independently [8,9].…”

Mechanizmy odpornościowe owadów i ich przełamywanie przez grzyby entomopatogenne

“…Jedn¹ z nich jest wykorzystanie do zabi jania owadów naturalnych zdolnooeci organizmów entomopatogennych, w tym grzybów i ich metabolitów (LACEY 2016, SHAH i PELL 2003, MANTZOU KAS i ELIOPOULOS 2020, KACZMAREK i BOGUOE 2021b. W przeciwieñstwie do bakterii, wirusów i pierwotniaków, posiadaj¹cych zdolnooeae do uoemiercania owadów, grzyby s¹ zdolne do przenikania przez kutikulê.…”