Isolation and Characterization of Benomyl-Resistant Mutants in an Entomopathogenic Fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae

Benomyl-resistant mutants of entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae were isolated and their physiological characteristics were investigated. These militants were obtained spontaneously or by UV irradiation in benomyl-treated media. Four spontaneous (S-2, S-11, S-18, S-19) and four UV-induced (UV-4, UV-5, UV-19, UV-24) mutants, which grow stably and normally were selected. No significant differences in conidia or hyphal shape, conidia viability, mycelial biomass, or virulent to the diamondback moth were observed between the wild type and their mutants. But differently from the mycelial growth of other benomyl-resistant mutants which was slower than that of the wild type on a modified Czapek-Dox, SDAY, $4\%$ chitin, or $1\%$ skim milk medium, that in the spontaneous mutants, S-18 and S-19, did not show any difference from the wild type. Especially, S-18 and S-19 grew well at benomyl concentrations up to 50 times or higher than that which inhibits wild type proliferation. These results suggested that S-18 and S-19 could potentially be used with the fungicide, benomyl.