Persistence and effect of Metarhizium anisopliae in the fungal community of sugarcane soil

The persistence of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin URM5951 in soil of sugarcane crop and the effect of introducing it in the structure of the fungal community were checked, using the colony-forming units and the PCR–DGGE techniques. A suspension of conidia was sprayed on the surface of the soil obtained from the field. The experiment was carried out in vases, each one containing 3?kg of soil, in which a sugarcane seedling was introduced and maintained in greenhouse. Soil samples were collected at 15, 30, 60 and 90?days after the fungus was applied. Soil fungal DNA was PCR amplified using the primer pair FR1GC and FF390, giving fragments of the 18S rDNA. A high level of similarity was observed between the samples inoculated with M. anisopliae and the control samples in every sampling time studied. Isolate URM5951 showed persistence up to 60?days and did not interfere in the soil fungal community in the conditions tested, with these being desirable characteristics in the process of selecting entomopathogenic fungi.