Discovery of a North American genetic variant of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae pathogenic to grasshoppers

A genetic variant of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae, isolated from a soil in Alberta, Canada, from a location with a history of severe grasshopper infestations, was evaluated for pathogenicity in bioassays of living grasshoppers. Mortality in treated individuals drawn from a laboratory colony was 99% (LT50 = 6.7 days, LT90 = 9.6 days) at 12 days post-inoculation compared to 100% (LT50 = 4.1 days, LT90 = 5.8 days) mortality at 8 days in insects exposed to a commercial isolate of M. anisopliae var. acridum (IMI 330189). Experimental infection of field-collected grasshoppers under laboratory conditions with the native isolate of M. anisopliae var. anisopliae resulted in 100% (LT50 = 4.4 days, LT90 = 5.4 days) mortality attained within 7 days compared to 100% (LT50 = 4.7 days, LT90 = 6.3 days) mortality in 9 days in insects treated with M. anisopliae var. acridum. Amplification of fungal genomic DNA from the indigenous isolate with primers for the specific detection of M. anisopliae var. anisopliae produced a product almost 300 bp larger than expected based on previously known isolates. This is the first demonstration of a highly virulent, indigenous non-chemical control agent of grasshoppers in North America.