title: Production of conidia by entomopathogenic fungi: from inoculants to final quality tests.
abstract: Demand for biopesticides is growing due to the increase of areas under integrated pest management worldwide. Conidia from entomopathogenic fungi play a major role as infective units in the current market of biopesticides. Success in a massive production of fungal conidia include the use of proper long-term conservation microbial methods, aimed at preserving the phenotypic traits of the strains. The development of suitable inoculants should also be considered since that favours a rapid germination and invasiveness of the substrate in solid state cultures (SSC). After the selection of a suitable fungal strain, proven optimization approaches for SSC mainly include the combination of substrates, moisture, texturizers, aeration and moderate stress to induce conidiation. Nonetheless, during storage and upon application in open fields, conidia either as free propagules or imbibed in formulations are subjected to stress due to abiotic factors, then quality should be preserved to resist such harsh conditions. All of these topics are analysed in this report.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Iztapalapa, 09340, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Facundo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Muñiz-Paredes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Iztapalapa, 09340, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Miranda-Hernández
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Iztapalapa, 09340, Mexico City, Mexico. loera@xanum.uam.mx.
authors.forename: Octavio
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8194-1608
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Loera
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D061046:Biological Control Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D003470:Culture Media / Q000494:pharmacology; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D007313:Insecta / Q000382:microbiology*; D010641:Phenotype; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D061046:Biological Control Agents; D003470:Culture Media
keywords: Biological control; Conidia production; Conidia quality; Entomopathogenic fungi market; Optimization; Suitable inoculants