The transcriptome of the entomopathogenic fungus contains an ortholog of the insecticidal ribotoxin Hirsutellin.

The entomopathogenic fungus is known to infect and kill mosquito larvae and therefore has been seen as a potential biological control agent against disease vector mosquitoes. Whereas most fungal entomopathogens infect hosts by penetrating the external cuticle, initiates infection through ingestion (s). This unique infection strategy suggests that the genome may be mined for novel pathogenicity factors with potential for vector control. To this end, an Isoseq-based transcriptome analysis was initiated, and resulted in a total of 3,512,145 sequences, with an average length of 1,732 bp. Transcripts assembly and annotation suggested that the transcriptome lacked the cuticle-degrading proteins that have been associated with other entomopathogenic fungi, supporting the pathogenicity process. Furthermore, mining of the sequence data unexpectedly revealed transcripts homologous to the Hirsutellin toxin. Comparative sequence analyses indicated that the Hirsutellin predicted protein has retained the canonical molecular features that have been associated with the ribotoxic and insecticidal properties of the original toxin isolated from . The identification of an Hirsutellin ortholog in was supported by phylogenetic analyses demonstrating that and were closely related genera in the Ophiocordycipitaceae family. Validation of the mosquitocidal activity of this novel protein has yet to be performed but may help position Hirsutellin orthologs as prime candidates for the development of alternative biocontrol approaches complementing the current toolbox of vector mosquito management strategies.