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Genomic Determinants of Entomopathogenic Fungi and Their Involvement in Pathogenesis

  • Fungal Microbiology
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Abstract

Entomopathogenic fungi offer an effective and eco-friendly alternative to curb insect populations in biocontrol strategy. The evolutionary history of selected entomopathogenic fungi indicates their ancestral relationship with plant endophytes. During this host shifting, entomopathogenic fungi must have acquired multiple mechanisms, including a combination of various biomolecules that make them distinguishable from other fungi. In this review, we focus on understanding various biochemical and molecular mechanisms involved in entomopathogenesis. In particular, we attempt to explain the indispensable role of enlarged gene families of various virulent factors, viz. chitinases, proteases, lipases, specialized metabolites, and cytochrome P450, in entomopathogenesis. Our analysis suggests that entomopathogenic fungi recruit a different set of gene products during the progression of pathogenesis. Knowledge of these bio-molecular interactions between fungi and insect hosts will allow researchers to execute pointed efforts towards the development of improved entomopathogenic fungal strains.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Dr. Mukund Deshpande, Greenvention Biotech Pvt. Pune, for valuable discussions and encouragement to pursue work on entomopathogenic fungi.

Funding

RPV is thankful to Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India, and Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research Training and Human Development Institute (SARTHI), Government of Maharashtra, India, for providing Senior Research Fellowship (SRF).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Molecular Biology Unit, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, 411008, Maharashtra, India

    Ravindra P. Vidhate, Vishal V. Dawkar & Ashok P. Giri

  2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ravindra P. Vidhate & Ashok P. Giri

  3. Biospheres, Eshwari, 52/403, Lakshminagar, Parvati, Pune, 411009, Maharashtra, India

    Sachin A. Punekar

Authors
  1. Ravindra P. Vidhate
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  2. Vishal V. Dawkar
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  3. Sachin A. Punekar
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  4. Ashok P. Giri
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Contributions

RPV, VVD, and APG conceived the review idea and plan. RPV, VVD, SAP, and APG finalize the outline and prepare schematics. RPV, APG, and VVD prepared the manuscript along with inputs from SAP. Subsequently, all the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ashok P. Giri.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Vidhate, R.P., Dawkar, V.V., Punekar, S.A. et al. Genomic Determinants of Entomopathogenic Fungi and Their Involvement in Pathogenesis. Microb Ecol 85, 49–60 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-021-01936-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-021-01936-z

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