Thaochan N, Chandrapatya A 2016 -The phenotypic and metabolic properties of Metarhizium guizhouense on Corcyra cephalonica. Mycosphere 7(2), 214-225, Doi 10.5943/mycosphere/7/2/10 Abstract An entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium guizhouense, used as biological control agent for insect pests. The phenotypic (mycelial growth and sporulation) and metabolic properties (enzyme production and virulence) of M. guizhouense PSUM02 and PSUM04 were compared after successive subcultures on an artificial

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... ium (5 or 10 cycles), and after passages through larvae of an insect host, Corcyra cephalonica (3, 5 or 7 cycles). The mycelial growth rates were not significantly affected, with the exceptions of PSUM02 subcultured 10 times and PSUM04 subcultured 5 times, both of which had slightly reduced mycelial growth rates. Passages through an insect host gave the highest spore production, similar to the original fungal culture, while subculturing on an artificial medium reduced spore production several fold. Only after 5 and 7 passages through an insect host did PSUM02 have chitinase activity, while with other treatments (including no treatment of the original fungal culture) it had no chitinase activity. Successive subculturing of M. guizhouense PSUM02 and PSUM04 on an artificial medium for 10 cycles decreased the virulence of the fungus compared to the original culture, while passages through an insect hosts increased the virulence. The results indicate that the virulence of M. guizhouense PSUM02 and PSUM04 passages through an insect host for 3 times suitable for restoring the phenotypic and metabolic properties for biological control agent in insect pest control. Mycosphere 7 (2): 214-225 (2016) www.mycosphere.org ISSN 2077 7019