Identification and phylogenetic analysis of a collection of Beauveria spp. Isolates from Central America and Puerto Rico

• Published in: Journal of invertebrate pathology Vol. 184; p. 107642
• Main Authors: Castro-Vásquez, Ruth M., Molina-Bravo, Ramón, Hernández-Villalobos, Silvia, Vargas-Martínez, Alejandro, González-Herrera, Allan, Montero-Astúa, Mauricio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01-09-2021
• Subjects: Biological control; Entomopathogen; Microsatellites; Neotropical fungi; Phylogeny; pp; Entomopathogen; Bloc; Microsatellites; SSR; Biological control; RPB2; Neotropical fungi; Phylogeny; TEF-1α
• ISSN: 0022-2011; 1096-0805
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2021.107642

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•Two species, Beauveria bassiana and B. caledonica were identified in ECA-UNA collection.•Most B. bassiana isolates studied belong to the African and Neotropical clade (AFNEO_1).•B. bassiana isolates showed high genetic diversity according with SSR analysis.•Morphological variability is in accordance with molecular diversity.
The genus Beauveria comprises economically important entomopathogenic fungi, widely used for biological control in agriculture. Interest in these organisms in Costa Rica prompted surveys and establishment of collections in the past two decades. However, there was neither a formal identification nor a characterization of the isolates. With that purpose, the morphology and genetic variation by microsatellites and partial sequencing of Bloc, TEF-1α and RPB2 regions were studied for 32 isolates of Beauveria, which included 26 from Costa Rica, five from Puerto Rico and one from Honduras. The isolates were identified as B. bassiana (29) and B. caledonica (3). Ninety-three percent of B. bassiana isolates belonged to a monophyletic group of African and Neotropical isolates. A total of 105 alleles were recorded with 11 SSR markers, and the results suggested high diversity within the collection. Mantel tests showed low association between geographic origin and the variation among isolates.