''Lecanicillium longisporum'' is the approved name of an

entomopathogenic fungus Entomopathogenic fungi are parasitic unicellular or multicellular microorganisms belonging to the kingdom of Fungi, that can infect and seriously disable or kill insects. Pathogenicity for insects is widely distributed in the kingdom of fungi and ...

species, that was previously widely known as ''

Verticillium ''Verticillium'' is a genus of fungi in the division Ascomycota, and are an anamorphic form of the family Plectosphaerellaceae. The genus used to include diverse groups comprising saprobes and parasites of higher plants, insects, nematodes, mol ...

lecanii'' (Zimmerman) Viegas, but is now understood to be an

anamorph In mycology, the terms teleomorph, anamorph, and holomorph apply to portions of the life cycles of fungi in the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota: *Teleomorph: the sexual reproductive stage (morph), typically a fruiting body. *Anamorph: an ase ...

ic form in the ''

Cordyceps ''Cordyceps'' is a genus of ascomycete fungi (sac fungi) that includes over 260 species worldwide, many of which are parasitic. Diverse variants of cordyceps have had more than 1,500 years of use in Chinese medicine. Most ''Cordyceps'' specie ...

'' group of genera in the

Cordycipitaceae The Cordycipitaceae are a family of parasitic fungi in the Ascomycota, class Sordariomycetes and order Hypocreales. The family was first published in 1969 by mycologist Hanns Kreisel, but the naming was invalid according to the code of Internatio ...

. It now appears that isolates formerly classified as ''V. lecanii'' could be ''L. attenuatum, L. lecanii, L. longisporum, L. muscarium'' or ''L. nodulosum''. "''V. lecanii''" was first described in 1861 and has a worldwide distribution.

Insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s are infected when they come into contact with the sticky fungal

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

which then grow and invade the body, thus the internal organs are consumed, leading to their death. In

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, the ''Lecanicillium'' ''longisporum'' Isolate (GCRI 1-72; IMI 179172) was first isolated and developed by scientists, Drs R.A.Hall and H.D.Burges at the Glasshouse Crops Research Institute (now Warwick HRI: formerly part of

Horticulture Research International Warwick HRI (formerly Horticulture Research International) was a United Kingdom organisation tasked with carrying out horticultural research and development and transferring the results to industry in England. History Horticulture Research Inter ...

Products and Important Isolates

''L. longisporum'' is now marketed as 'Vertalec', for management of

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...

pests, by Koppert in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

(who provide good illustrations of the fungus). 'Vertalec', based on strain IMI 179172, was first commercialised and registered in the UK through the collaboration of GCRI and Tate and Lyle Ltd (UK).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13587036 Biopesticides Cordycipitaceae Fungi described in 2001 Fungus species