Utilizing Genomics to Study Entomopathogenicity in the Fungal Phylum Entomophthoromycota: A Review of Current Genetic Resources

The order Entomophthorales, which formerly contained c.280 species, has recently been recognized as a separate phylum, Entomophthoromycota, consisting of three recognized classes and six families. Many genera in this group contain obligate insect-pathogenic species with narrow host ranges, capable of producing epizootics in natural insect populations. Available sequence information from the phylum Entomophthoromycota can be classified into three main categories: first, partial gene regions (exons+introns) used for phylogenetic inference; second, protein coding gene regions obtained using degenerate primers, expressed sequence tag methodology or de novo transcriptome sequencing with molecular function inferred by homology analysis; and third, primarily forthcoming whole-genome sequencing data sets. Here we summarize the current genetic resources for Entomophthoromycota and identify research areas that are likely to be significantly advanced from the availability of new whole-genome resources.