Prevalence and diversity of viruses in the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana.

ABSTRACT: Viruses have been discovered in numerous fungal species, but unlike most known animal or plant viruses, they are rarely associated with deleterious effects on their hosts. The knowledge about viruses among entomopathogenic fungi is very limited, although their existence is suspected because of the presence of virus-like double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in isolates of several species. Beauveria bassiana is one of the most-studied species of entomopathogenic fungi; it has a cosmopolitan distribution and is used as a biological control agent against invertebrates in agriculture. We analyzed a collection of 73 isolates obtained at different locations and from different habitats in Spain and Portugal, searching for dsRNA elements indicative of viral infections. The results revealed that the prevalen

SUBMITTER: Herrero N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3502908 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature