Identification of entomopathogenic polycephalomyces nipponicus on cicada nymph in Ea Knop town, Dak Lak Province, Vietnam

Abstract

A fungus parasitized on cicada nymph, labeled as H022, was discovered in Ea Knop town, Dak Lak province. Subsequently, the fungus specimen was transferred to our laboratory for morphological and genetic analyses to identify species. The genomic DNA was isolated using the phenol/chloroform method and used as a template for PCR to amplify the nrSSU, ITS, nrLSU, Rpb1, and Tef1 genes. Next, the PCR products were sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. Based on the morphological analysis, H022 was indicated as Polycephalomyces nipponicus (Kobayasi) (Kepler et al., 2013). Moreover, the phylogenetic analysis revealed that the H022 fungus formed a monophyletic group with the reference Polycephalomyces nipponicus with a high bootstrap value of 100/100/100 (NJ/MP/ML). These morphological and phylogenetic analyses confirm that the H022 fungus Polycephalomyces nipponicus that is firstly recorded in Vietnam.