Background

Studies upon mycobiota associated to pest has been commonly focused only on entomopathogenic species with the aim to use them as biocontrol agents, without considering others fungal species probably related to crop diseases.

Objectives

Analyze the mycobiota associated to pest insect corpses from maize in the Queretaro State to address the impact they have in agriculture.

Methods

The identification of fungal isolated was carried out by classic taxonomy and phylogenetic analysis using sequences of ADNr ITS1, 5.8S, and ITS2.

Results and conclusions

Eighteen fungal strains were isolated from insect cadavers, which are catalogued as economic importance pest in the Queretaro State. The fungi belong to the genera Fusarium, Beauveria, and Purpureocillium, isolated from Melanoplus sp., Toxoptera citricida and Spodoptera frugiperda larvae as hosts respectively. The Fusarium species showed high prevalence in our samples, followed by B. bassiana and P. lilacinum, suggesting that they could be acting as natural biocontrol agents against pest, possibly pest insects could be acting as vectors transporting some species of phytopathogenic fungi among the crops.

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