Search

Protaetia brevitarsis is an edible insect registered as an alternative food ingredient by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Herein, we investigated the effects of Paecilomyces tenuipes on diseases reported in the larvae of edible insects with the aim of improving the productivity of larvae by promoting their development and enhancing their disease resistance. P. tenuipes exhibits several biological and pharmaceutical properties. We developed the feed for P. brevitarsis larvae with fermented oak sawdust combined with P. tenuipes–inoculated brown rice. The larval group that reared on feed combined with P. tenuipes showed a 6.5‐fold increase in weight and 5‐fold increase in survival rate against Metarhizium anisopliae relative to that seen with the controls. The nutrient composition of this feed formulation was 2.37 times higher in crude protein than in the other feed types, including the control. Our results suggest that P. tenuipes–inoculated brown rice can be used to increase larval weight and promote disease resistance, thereby potentially reducing the prevalence and severity fungal disease caused by M. anisopliae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edible insects are considered novel protein sources, and the edible insect breeding industry is growing rapidly. However, fungal pathogens are a major threat to this industry, and appropriate identification of causative agents is important for the development of antifungal agents. In 2019, strains of the fungal pathogen Metarhizium were isolated from infected second and third instar larvae of the economically important edible insect Protaetia brevitarsis, which were collected from separate farms in Gimhae‐si, Gyeongsangnam‐do, Korea. Based on morphological characteristics and multilocus phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region, and 5′‐region of gene encoding the 1‐α elongation factor, the fungal strains were identified as Metarhizium majus. Here, we report the detailed phylogenetic characteristics and morphological description of this species, which is prevalent in Korea. Identification of the principal disease‐causing agent can help develop disease prevention and antifungal strategies for application in edible insect‐rearing farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]