Carbon Metabolism of Beauveria bassiana May be Related to Virulence Against Plutella xylostella (Lep.: Plutellidae) and Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Col.: Chrysomelidae)

Fermentation of 49 carbohydrates and oxidation and apssimilation of 96 substrates wereexamined for ten Beauveria bassiana isolates. Principal component analysis indicated thatthere are significant differences among isolates for utilization of some substrates. Esculineand D-glucose were positively fermented by all isolates. Isolates were grouped into fourclusters on the basis of hierarchial analysis of 96-hr reaction data. Using canonical variateanalysis, it was determined that N-acetyl-D-glucosamine fermentation and â-cyclodextrinoxidation were strongly and positively correlated with pathogenicity of isolates againstdiamondback moth, Plutella xylostella and Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsadecemlineata. In contrast, Sebacic acid assimilation was negatively correlated to virulenceagainst these insects