Entomopathogenic Fungus Beauveria bassiana

Beauveria bassiana is a fungus that grows naturally in soils throughout the world and acts as a parasite on various arthropod species causing white muscardine disease; it thus belongs to the entomopathogenic fungi. It is being used as a biological being used as a biological insecticide to control a number of pests such as termites thrips whiteflies aphids and different beetles. In culture B. bassiana grows as a white mold.On most common cultural media it produces many dry powdery conidia in distinctive white spore balls. Each spore ball is composed of a cluster of conidiogenous cells. The conidiogenous cells of B. bassiana are short and ovoid and terminate in a narrow apical extension called a rachis.The rachis elongates after each conidium is produced resulting in a long zig-zag extension.The conidia are single-celled haploid and hydrophobic.The insect disease caused by the fungus is called white muscardine disease.When the microscopic spores of the fungus come into contact with the body of an insect host; they germinate penetrate the cuticle and grow inside killing the insect within a matter of days.