title: Study on morphology, pathogenicity, and genetic variability of Beauveria bassiana isolates obtained from Boophilus microplus tick.
abstract: Fifty isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin, 1912 (Ascomycota: Clavicipitaceae) were analyzed by morphology, for their pathogenic potential to Boophilus microplus (Canestrini, 1887) (Acari: Ixodidae) larvae, and by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA-Polymerase Chain Reaction technique. Morphological analysis demonstrated that isolates present characteristics compatible to those described for B. bassiana in the literature. Virulence test demonstrated that all isolates present lethal effect on larvae and that the lethal concentration varies among isolates. The most virulent isolate was the only one obtained from human infection, which was also the only isolate presenting synnemata. The study on genetic variability among the isolates allowed the identification of 23 electrophoretic profiles. The established groupings suggest that most of the isolates obtained from B. microplus of the same locality present low genetic variation. In this way, the data in the present study will contribute to a meticulous characterization of these B. bassiana isolates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Parasitology, Veterinary Institute, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro-UFFRJ, Seropédica-RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Everton Kort Kamp
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Gisela Lara
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Aurea Maria Lage
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Moraes
authors.forename: Viviane
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zahner
authors.forename: Vânia Rita Elias Pinheiro
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Bittencourt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D052982:Beauveria / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001938:Brazil; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000235:genetics / Q000469:parasitology*; D007814:Larva / Q000469:parasitology; D010273:Parasitic Diseases, Animal / Q000469:parasitology*; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*