Molecular identification of the teleomorph of Beauveria bassiana

Abstract

Beauveria bassiana, which is widely used in insect pest biocontrol, is one of the most common species of entomopathogenic fungi. This species is widely distributed as an anamorph and a potential teleomorph has only recently been identified. The genes of the 5.8S rRNA and the complete internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions from Cordyceps bassiana and B. bassiana, isolated from this Cordyceps specimen, were sequenced and compared in this study. The results showed that C. bassiana and B. bassiana have the same ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 nucleotide sequences, which strongly supports the fact that C. bassiana is the teleomorph of B. bassiana. Molecular phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the conidial isolate of C. bassiana belongs to the widely distributed B. bassiana species complex.