Differential gene expression of Metarhizium spp.

• Grant number: 18/13282-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 18, 2018
• End date: September 17, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Italo Delalibera Júnior
• Grantee: Joel da Cruz Couceiro
• Supervisor: Nicolai Vitt Meyling
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
• Associated to the scholarship: 17/20491-0 - Niche adaptations and plasticity within entomopathogenic Metarhizium communities in sugar cane ecosystems, BP.DR

Abstract

Entomopathogenic fungi are one of the most important biological control agents, and their use in cropping areas has been increasing in the last years. Many species of these pathogens not only have the ability to kill insects but can also endophytically associate with roots of several plant species. This phenotypic plasticity is possible because some genes are differently expressed when the fungus is in contact with insects or plants. The fungal genus Metarhizium is composed by a group of species with global distribution which can act as entomopathogens and endophytes. Metarhizium robertsii Bischoff, Rehner & Humber and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorokin are among the most common species of the genus found in Brazilian soils, with the former usually associated with roots, and a subclade of the latter, Mani 2, also infecting insects. In Danish soils, M. robertsii and Metarhizium brunneum Petch are among the most abundant species of the genus. These three taxa occupy different ecological niches, and it is hypothesized that the ability to associate with roots is one of the main factors responsible for this difference. The objective of this project is to measure the gene expression of isolates of M. robertsii, M. brunneum and M. anisopliae subclade Mani 2 during inoculation in wheat and to compare their transcriptomes. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

COUCEIRO, JOEL DA CRUZ; LICHT, HENRIK H. DE FINE; DELALIBERA JR., ITALO; MEYLING, NICOLAI V.. Comparative gene expression and genomics reflect geographical divergence in the plant symbiotic and entomopathogenic fungal genus Metarhizium. Fungal Ecology, v. 60, p. 13-pg., 2022-08-20. (18/13282-8, 17/20491-0)