Genetic diversity, reproductive biology, and speciation in the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin.

Beauveria bassiana, a mitosporic fungus used for the biological control of many insect species, is recognized as a "species complex" comprising genetically diverse lineages. Being predominantly asexual, mating tests cannot be applied to delimit species in this species complex. Genetic tests offer an indirect means of identifying species among isolates. To this end, molecular genetic analysis of a sample of B. bassiana isolates with 2 subsamples, 1 representing a worldwide collection and another from a localized epizootic population was carried out. DNA markers generated through AFLPs (amplified fragment length polymorphisms) and SSCPs (single-strand conformation poly morphisms) and nucleotide sequence data of different allelic forms of 3 genes (large and small subunits of rRNA and beta-tubulin) were evaluated. The B. bassiana isolates from the worldwide sample showed 11% overall similarity and no closely clustered groups. Phylogenetic trees generated from the AFLP and SSCP data of this sample resolved the different isolates into distinct phylogenetic lineages. In the epizootic B. bassiana population, prevalence of recombination was evident from random association of alleles in multilocus tests and lack of phylogenetic concordance among 3 gene genealogies. Thus, the worldwide sample of B. bassiana exhibits a predominantly clonal structure, hinting at species divergence leading to cryptic speciation with recombination being customary among isolates sharing a close ecological niche.