Phylogenetics of the Insect Pathogenic Genus Beauveria

Abstract Beauveria (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) is a cosmopolitan genus of soilborne entomogenous molds. As one of the first entomopathogenic fungi to be discovered, elucidation of the role of Beauveria as the cause of white muscardine, a devastating disease afflicting the European silk­ worm industry in the 18th and 19th centuries, initiated the study of fungal insect pathology. Additionally, scientific studies by Agostino Bassi demonstrating that Beauveria was the infectious disease agent that caused the white muscardine dis­ ease of silkworm were important antecedents to the germ theory of disease, arguably one of the most significant theories in the history of science. Although investigation of Beauveria was instigated by the need to protect a beneficial domesticated insect, Beauveria is also an important natural pathogen of insects, its hosts including many economically important insect pests. As a result, a great deal of research on Beauveria has been motivated by and has focused on the applied use of Beauveria in insect biological control.