Entomopathogenic and nematophagous fungal endophytes

Abstract

Biological control agents have received a considerable amount of attention as alternatives to chemicals for the development of new control methods but also due to the disparate ecological niches occupied by them. Entomopathogenic (EF) and nematophagous fungi (NF) enter their hosts directly via the cuticle or natural openings, what makes them attractive agents for biological pest control. These fungi have been traditionally viewed simply as animal predators, but recent studies show that a considerable number of fungal pathogens of invertebrates have an endophytic phase in their life cycles. Several taxa of EF and NF have been identified as naturally occurring endophytes and could be artificially inoculated in agricultural plant species. In addition, symbioses with some endophytic species positively affect plant growth and resistance against fungal pathogens. These additional ecological roles give a new perspective to the study of these organisms, because they are part of tritrophic interactions where plants, invertebrates, and fungi are closely involved. Understanding fungal-plant, fungal-pest, fungal-pathogen, and fungal-plant-pest interactions, plus the role of fungal viruses, that infect EF, could lead to the development of novel integrated crop production and protection tools.