Comparative Transcriptome analyzis between Metarhizium anisopliae and Metarhizium rileyi blastospores and conidia during penetration on Spodoptera frugiperda caterpillars cuticle

Regarding the fungi specialization and their adaptations to evade insect hosts, and knowing that M. anisopliae is a generalist fungus, while M. rileyi is a specialist in Lepidoptera species, we hypothesize that, even belonging to the same genus, M. anisopliae, and M. rileyi use different mechanisms to penetrate Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) caterpillars.Thus using comparative transcriptome we aimed to identify overexpressed genes during propagules penetration on insect cuticles.