Rapid identification of insect pathogenic fungi for commercial production

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One of the goals of Crop Defenders Ltd., an integrated pest management (IPM) company, is to utilize naturallyoccurring strains of microorganisms in order to control insect pests. These biopesticides benefit the growers byenhancing integrated pest management (IPM), resistance management, improving the yield, quality andmarketability of the fresh produce. Crop Defenders Ltd. is working with very promising crop producers thathave demand for high quality microbials for pest control in Canada and internationally.One of the foci of Crop Defenders Ltd. is to employ species of fungi that infect insects in order to control insectpests of crops in Ontario, Canada and internationally. Crop Defenders Ltd has isolated over 250 strains of fungiin Ontario and are assessing these endemic strains in a biological control effort.In order to assess the potential for the use of the strains of fungi that Crop Defenders has in agriculture it isnecessary first to be able to identify which fungal species they have isolated. This would also be important ifthe fungus is released for insect control in order to be able to track the viability, persistence and efficacy of thestrain.Our laboratory at Brock University has at least 25 years of experience in identifying fungal species,particularly, insect pathogenic fungi. We will use at least two molecular markers using polymerase chainreaction (PCR) to identify the fungal species in comparison to previously identified isolates. We will comparethese fungal isolates in a phylogenetic analysis in order to place the fungi in a taxonomic context. Furthermore,we will be experimenting with rapid DNA extraction protocols in order to streamline the entire process offungal identification.