%0 Journal Article
%T Role of chitinase expression in the virulence of Lecanicillium lecanii against citrus black aphid (Toxoptera aurantii).
%A Huang J
%A Qasim M
%A Zhou R
%A Han X
%A Ansari MJ
%A Almoallim HS
%A Alkherb WAH
%A Wang L
%J Int J Biol Macromol
%V 276
%N 0
%D 2024 Sep 17
%M 39029816
%F 8.025
%R 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.133970
%X Chitinase plays a vital role in the virulence of entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) when it infects host insects. We used gene recombination technology to express chitinase of three strains of Lecanicillium lecanii: Vl6063, V3450, and Vp28. The ORF of ChitVl6063, ChitV3450 and ChitVp28 were inserted into the fungal expression vector pBARGPE-1, which contained strong promoter and terminator, respectively, to construct a chitinase overpressing plasmid, then transformed the wild-type strain with blastospore transformation method. The virulence of the three recombinant strains against Toxoptera aurantii was improved by overproduction of ChitVl6063, ChitV3450, and ChitVp28, as demonstrated by significantly lower 3.43 %, 1.72 %, and 1.23 % fatal doses, respectively, according to an insect bioassay. Similarly, lethal times of recombinants (ChitVl6063, ChitV3450 and ChitVp28) were also decreased up to 29.51 %, 30.46 % and 33.90 %, respectively, compared to the wild-type strains. Improving the expression of chitinase is considered as an effective method for the enhancement of the EPF value. The efficacy could be enhanced using recombinant technology, which provides a prospecting view for future insecticidal applications.