Diversity of Entomopathogenic Fungi in vineyard soils in Portugal

Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) are important parasitic microorganisms of soil-dwelling insect pests, playing an important role in the dynamics of insect populations in agricultural soils. The increased global demand for sustainable grapevine cultivation and pest control has highlighted the need for a better understanding of these naturally occurring antagonists. To improve the efficacy of the EPF as microbial insecticides it is necessary to understand their habitat selection. Therefore, this study aimed to isolate and identify EPF from several vineyard soils. Soil samples were collected to obtain the isolates using Tenebrio molitor as bait. Based on ITS sequence analysis and phylogeny, most fungal isolates were identified as Metarhizium robertsii followed by Clonostachys rosea, Beauveria bassiana, Purpureocillium lilacinum, Blackwellomyces pseudomilitaris, Flavocillium bifurcatum, Lecanicillium dimorphum, Sesquicillium rossmaniae and Trichoderma gamsii. This work will provide insights into the biodiversity of entomopathogenic fungi, which can be exploited for the biological control of vineyard pests.