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Analysis of variation in virulence of Beauveria bassiana against insect pests of pigeonpea using qPCR
Author(s) -
Senthilraja Govindasamy,
Anand Theerthagiri,
Mohankumar Subbarayalu,
Raguchander Thiruvengadam,
Samiyappan Ramasamy
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of basic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.58
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1521-4028
pISSN - 0233-111X
DOI - 10.1002/jobm.201700471
Subject(s) - beauveria bassiana , bassiana , chitinase , helicoverpa armigera , biology , virulence , insect , microbiology and biotechnology , biological pest control , veterinary medicine , botany , larva , gene , genetics , medicine
Beauveria bassiana is a broad spectrum microbial bioagent used for the control of agriculturally important insect pests. However, in our experiments, two virulent isolates of B. bassiana (B2 and B10) showed specific preference toward Maruca vitrata and Helicoverpa armigera of pigeonpea. To better understand this feature, we developed a qPCR assay to quantify the chitinase (virulence factor) of B. bassiana during the infection process. Isolates of B. bassiana were grown on insect cuticle amended medium and minimal medium (without insect cuticle) to assess the induction of chitinase. Our results revealed a positive correlation between expression of chitinase by B. bassiana and the substrates (with or without cuticles of M. vitrata and H. armigera ) used. This study showcases the methodology to quantify the chitinase and analysis of variation in virulence of B. bassiana (B2 and B10) against M. vitrata and H. armigera .