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Updated: Mar 29, 2026

The Insect Galleria mellonella as a Powerful Infection Model to Investigate Bacterial Pathogenesis
Published on: December 11, 2012
Physiological mechanisms driving virulence in insect-pathogenic fungi
Drauzio En Rangel1, Alene Alder-Rangel2, Richard A Humber3
1Inbioter - Institute of Biotechnology Rangel, Caixa Postal 5, Itatiba, SP 13250-970, Brazil; Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São José dos Campos, SP 12231-280, Brazil.
None:
Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) are widely used as biological control agents; however, their commercial success is limited by the frequent decline in virulence and conidial quality following repeated subculturing on artificial media. This review synthesizes the current understanding of the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying culture degeneration, including alterations in metabolic pathways, oxidative stress responses, enzyme activity, and the influence of mycoviruses. We highlight how growth medium composition, nutritional stress, and environmental conditions during growth can either attenuate or enhance the infectivity, stress tolerance, and persistence of EPF propagules. Strategies such as host passaging, media formulations enriched with cuticular hydrocarbons or amino acids, and targeted modulation of stress-related pathways are discussed as practical approaches to restore or maintain virulence. By linking culture conditions with virulence traits, this work emphasizes the importance of physiological manipulation and informed quality control for reliable mass production of fungal biocontrol agents.
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