Abstract
More innovative molecular markers were investigated for rapid and consistent differentiation of Metarhizium anisopliae var. majus from M. anisopliae var. anisopliae. A total of 28 isolates were obtained from various countries and hosts: 13 isolates of M. anisopliae var. anisopliae, 12 isolates of M. anisopliae var. majus, and 3 isolates of M. anisopliae collected in Korea. This study involved restriction enzyme digestions of a PCR product amplified from nuclear internally transcribed spacer (ITS) and a portion of the 28S rDNA regions. Among 11 different restriction enzymes used in this study, MboⅠ digestion particularly produced a restriction pattern that had characteristics of M. anisopliae var. majus. This restriction pattern was consistent in all isolates of M. anisopliae var. majus regardless of their geographic origins and insect hosts. Mapping experiments revealed that MboⅠ sites of M. anisopliae var. majus are identical to those of M. anisopliae var. anisopliae with an exception for the presence of an additional site in the PCR product. Results from this study provide an additional method for identification and differentiation of isolates of these two varieties of M. anisopliae for use in the field and laboratory experiments.