FIG 1.

Effects of the BbHapX mutation on the virulence of Beauveria bassiana against Galleria mellonella. (A) Survival curve for insect hosts after topical inoculation with conidial suspension (10⁷ cells/ml) of the WT, ΔBbHapX, and complemented strains. (B) Survival curve for insect hosts after injection with 5 μl of conidial suspension (10⁶ cells/ml) of the three strains mentioned in panel A. Statistical analysis of survival data was performed by a Kaplan-Meier pairwise comparison using a log-rank test. (C) Conidial germination on the locust hindwing, which was used to mimic the insect cuticle. Conidia of the WT germinated well, while the mutant had barely germinated at 1 day postincubation. (D) Representative images of hyphal bodies in hemolymph. The rod-like cells are hyphal bodies (indicated with black arrows), and the round cells are host hemocytes.