Functional Analysis of MaAL gene in Metarhizium acridum

Entomopathogenic fungi, as an important insecticidal microorganism, have the advantages of being environmentally friendly, harmless to humans and animals, and sustainable control, but at the same time, they have the disadvantages of slow insecticidal speed, high production cost, unstable control effect, and susceptibility to environmental factors. Important limiting factors for its actual use in the field. Therefore, it has very important theoretical significance and practical application value for the study of genes related to the biocontrol traits of insect pathogenic fungi. Studies have found that Asp f2 is a class II allergen of Aspergillus fumigatus and is related to a variety of allergic diseases. Studies in filamentous fungi have found that their homologous proteins play an important role in the process of growth, development, and pathogenicity. At present, the function of its homologous protein has not been reported in insect pathogenic fungi. Therefore, this article aims to clarify the function of Asp f2 homologous protein MaAL (Metarhizium acdrium Asp f2-like) in the model insect pathogenic fungus M.acridum. After its bioinformatics analysis, the MaAL knockout strain and complement strains were constructed to study the function of MaAL in Metarhizium anisopliae.

虫生真菌（Entomopathogenic fungi）作为一类重要的杀虫微生物，兼具环境友好、对人畜无害、防控可持续等优势，但同时也存在杀虫速度缓慢、生产成本偏高、防控效果不稳定、易受环境因素干扰等缺陷，上述缺陷均为制约其田间实际应用的关键限制因素。因此，针对虫生真菌生防性状相关基因开展研究，具备极为重要的理论意义与实际应用价值。已有研究证实，Asp f2是烟曲霉（Aspergillus fumigatus）的Ⅱ类变应原，与多种过敏性疾病存在关联；在丝状真菌（filamentous fungi）中，其同源蛋白在生长发育、致病进程中发挥着重要作用。目前，该同源蛋白在虫生真菌中的功能尚未见相关报道。为此，本研究以模式虫生真菌蝗绿僵菌（Metarhizium acridum，简称M. acridum）为研究对象，旨在明确其中Asp f2同源蛋白MaAL（Metarhizium acridum Asp f2-like）的功能。本研究通过对MaAL进行生物信息学分析，构建MaAL基因敲除菌株与互补菌株，以此探究MaAL在金龟子绿僵菌（Metarhizium anisopliae）中的功能。