Intraspecific variability in Conidiobolus obscurus.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The electrophoretic behavior of 34 strains of C. obscurus was examined in an attempt to study the interspecific differences from other entomopathogenic Conidiobolus spp. and the intraspecific variability existing among C. obscurus strains. Initially, the non-significant variability occurring among strains was estimated by comparing isozymic patterns of mycelial samples of a particular strain grown under variable culture conditions or collected at different growth stages. The species C. coronatus, C. osmodes, c. thromboides and C. apiculatus look electrophoretically homogeneous; comparisons of electrophoretic profiles between strains of the same species produced coefficients of similarity (CS) > 0.67, the baseline value established to measure non-significant differences. Strains of C. obscurus, unlike the other Conidiobolus spp. appeared heterogeneous with certain pairs having a calculated CS value < 0.1. The relationships among the C. obscurus strains appeared to be independent of the insect host from which they were isolated and from the locality of origin. An analysis of a dendrogram constructed for C. obscurus having known in vitro growth characteristics produced 3 major groups of strains. The clustering of these strains appeared to depend on their ability to produce resting spores in vitro. The first group were capable of producing azygospores in both liquid and solid media. Group II strains were able to sporulate on solid media but not in liquid culture and group III strains were unable to produce resting spores in vitro.