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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Ithaca, New York » Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health » Emerging Pests and Pathogens Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #417198
Research Project: Management and Biology of Arthropod Pests and Arthropod-borne Plant Pathogens

Location: Emerging Pests and Pathogens Research

Title: Potential for Use of Species in the Subfamily Erynioideae for Biological Control and Biotechnology

Author
item GRYGANSKYI, ANDRII - Ues, Inc
item HAJEK, ANN - Cornell University
item VOLOSCHUK, NATALIYA - National Academy Of Sciences Of Ukraine
item IDNURM, ALEXANDER - Pennsylvania State University
item EILENBERG, JORGEN - University Of Copenhagen
item MANRINO, ROMINA - National University Of La Plata
item Bushley, Kathryn
item KAVA, LIUDMYLA - National Academy Of Sciences Of Ukraine
item KUTOVENKO, VIRA - National Academy Of Sciences Of Ukraine
item NIE, YONG - Anhui Agricultural University
item ANIKE, FELICIA - North Carolina Agricultural And Technical State University

Submitted to: Microorganisms
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/10/2024
Publication Date: 1/14/2024
Citation: Gryganskyi, A.P., Hajek, A.E., Voloschuk, N., Idnurm, A., Eilenberg, J., Manrino, R.G., Bushley, K.E., Kava, L., Kutovenko, V.B., Nie, Y., Anike, F. 2024. Potential for Use of Species in the Subfamily Erynioideae for Biological Control and Biotechnology. Microorganisms. 12(1):168. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12010168.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12010168

Interpretive Summary: Entomopathogenic fungi represent potential biocontrol agents of insect pests in agriculture. However, little is known about the ecology and distribution of the difficult to culture early diverging group of fungi in Entomophthorales, which hampers their use for biological control. Here we reviewed the distribution and host-associations of members of the subfamily Erynioideae, the largest group in Entomopthorales and identify promises and challenges for developing these as biological control agents.

Technical Abstract: The fungal order Entomophthorales in the Zoopagomycota includes many fungal pathogens of arthropods. This review explores six genera in the subfamily Erynioideae within the family Entomophthoraceae, namely, Erynia, Furia, Orthomyces, Pandora, Strongwellsea, and Zoophthora. This is the largest subfamily in the Entomophthorales, including 126 described species. The species diversity, global distribution, and host range of this subfamily are summarized. Relatively few taxa are geographically widespread, and few have broad host ranges, which contrasts with many species with single reports from one location and one host species. The insect orders infected by the greatest numbers of species are the Diptera and Hemiptera. Across the subfamily, relatively few species have been cultivated in vitro, and those that have require more specialized media than many other fungi. Given their potential to attack arthropods and their position in the fungal evolutionary tree, we discuss which species might be adopted for biological control purposes or biotechnological innovations. Current challenges in the implementation of these species in biotechnology include the limited ability or difficulty in culturing many in vitro, a correlated paucity of genomic resources, and considerations regarding the host ranges of different species.