Metarhizium pinghaense

Metarhizium pinghaense is a species of entomopathogenic fungus in the family Clavicipitaceae. Some authorities have it as a synonym of Metarhizium anisopliae. DNA studies show that it is a good species,[2] with strong bootstrap support.[3]

Metarhizium pinghaense
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Sordariomycetes
Order: Hypocreales
Family: Clavicipitaceae
Genus: Metarhizium
Species:
M. pinghaense
Binomial name
Metarhizium pinghaense
Q.T. Chen & H.L. Guo[1]
Synonyms
  • Metarhizium pingshaense (orth. var.)

Researchers in Burkina Faso have created a strain of M. metarhizium genetically engineered to produce the venom of an Australian funnel-web spider; exposure to the fungus caused populations of anopheles mosquitoes, which spread malaria, to crash by 99% in a controlled trial. [4]

References

edit
  1. ^ Acta Mycol. Sin.: 179 (1986)
  2. ^ Schneider, S.; Rehner, S.A.; Widmer, F.; Enkerli, J. (October 2011). "A PCR-based tool for cultivation-independent detection and quantification of Metarhizium clade 1". Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. 108 (2): 106–114. doi:10.1016/j.jip.2011.07.005. PMID 21821039.
  3. ^ Zhang, Yabo; Ye, Bihuan; Wu, Xiaoshuang; Wang, Haojie; Shu, Jinping (December 2015). "Isolation and Identification of an Entomopathogenic Fungal Strain and Its Virulence to Larvae of Melanotus cribricollis". Chinese Journal of Biological Control. 31 (6): 868–875. doi:10.16409/j.cnki.2095-039x.2015.06.008. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  4. ^ Gallagher, James (31 May 2019). "GM fungus rapidly kills 99% of malaria mosquitoes, study suggests". BBC News Online. Retrieved 31 Dec 2019.