Genetic diversity among Brazilian isolates of Beauveria bassiana: comparisons with non-Brazilian isolates and other Beauveria species.

AIMS

The genetic diversity of Beauveria bassiana was investigated by comparing isolates of this species to each other (49 from different geographical regions of Brazil and 4 from USA) and to other Beauveria spp.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The isolates were examined by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), and rDNA sequencing. MLEE and AFLP revealed considerable genetic variability among B. bassiana isolates. Several isolates from South and Southeast Brazil had high similarity coefficients, providing evidence of at least one population with clonal structure. There were clear genomic differences between most Brazilian and USA B. bassiana isolates. A Mantel test using data generated by AFLP provided evidence that greater geographical distances were associated with higher genetic distances. AFLP and rDNA sequencing demonstrated notable genotypic variation between B. bassiana and other Beauveria spp.

CONCLUSION

Geographical distance between populations apparently is an important factor influencing genotypic variability among B. bassiana populations in Brazil.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study characterized many B. bassiana isolates. The results indicate that certain Brazilian isolates are considerably different from others and possibly should be regarded as separate species from B. bassiana sensu latu. The information on genetic variation among the Brazilian isolates, therefore, will be important to comprehending the population structure of B. bassiana in Brazil.