Alviti Kankanamalage Hasith Priyashantha, Yang Jing-Ya, Karunarathna Samantha C, Tibpromma Saowaluck, Kumla Jaturong, Wei De-Ping, Lumyong Saisamorn
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand.
Center of Excellence in Microbial Diversity and Sustainable Utilization, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand.
World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2025 May 26;41(6):179. doi: 10.1007/s11274-025-04377-9.
Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) are cosmopolitan, obligate, or facultative pathogens that show ruthless aggression toward various insects and ultimately cause them to die. They also have the ability to colonize and establish symbiotic relationships with plants as endophytes, thus offering a number of benefits to the host plants, inducing plant resistance against a number of biotic and abiotic stresses, and growth promotion. Recently, considerable attention has been paid to this group of fungi, mainly due to their exceptional ability to control numerous arthropod pests in crops. This practical application of EPF, which is of great interest, offers an eco-friendly manner of pest control, a key feature that makes them a potential solution to growing environmental concerns. This eco-friendly nature of EPF is particularly significant in the current context of growing environmental concerns and the need for sustainable solutions. This paper has attempted to review our current understanding of EPF. First, we briefly describe the historical identifications of EPF, landmark studies, and their classifications. Second, we discuss the group from an evolutionary standpoint. Third, the insect infection mechanisms, particularly the cuticular penetration pathway and different steps, are discussed. Finally, we emphasize the eco-friendly nature of these fungi, which makes them a sustainable option to mitigate the devastating effects of insect pests in current agriculture systems.
昆虫病原真菌是广泛分布的专性或兼性病原体，它们对各种昆虫表现出无情的侵袭，最终导致昆虫死亡。它们还能够作为内生菌定殖于植物并与之建立共生关系，从而为寄主植物带来诸多益处，诱导植物抵抗多种生物和非生物胁迫，并促进植物生长。最近，这类真菌受到了广泛关注，主要是因为它们具有控制作物中众多节肢动物害虫的卓越能力。昆虫病原真菌的这种实际应用极具吸引力，它提供了一种生态友好的害虫防治方式，这一关键特性使其成为应对日益严重的环境问题的潜在解决方案。在当前环境问题日益严重且需要可持续解决方案的背景下，昆虫病原真菌的这种生态友好特性尤为重要。本文试图综述我们目前对昆虫病原真菌的认识。首先，我们简要描述昆虫病原真菌的历史鉴定、具有里程碑意义的研究及其分类。其次，我们从进化的角度对这一类群进行讨论。第三，探讨昆虫感染机制，特别是表皮穿透途径及不同步骤。最后，我们强调这些真菌的生态友好特性，这使其成为减轻当前农业系统中害虫破坏性影响的可持续选择。
