FIG 5.

Biological effects of 2-pyridone biosynthesis in B. bassiana. (A) Phenotypes of different B. bassiana (Bb) strains after being cocultured with M. robertsii (Mr). (B) Comparison of the biomasses between WT B. bassiana and its mutants after being cocultured with M. robertsii. (C) Measurement and comparison of the iron contents accumulated in the mycelia of different B. bassiana strains after being cultured with M. robertsii. In panels A to C, the M. robertsii cultures were sealed in dialysis tubing for coculturing. For panels B and C, different letters above each column indicate the level of difference between samples at the level of a P value of <0.01 (for uppercase letters) or a P value of <0.05 (for lowercase letters) after one-way ANOVA. MDW, mycelium dry weight. (D) Rescue of ΔtenS spore germination with 15-HT when the fungus was competed with M. robertsii. The spores were mixed at a ratio of 1:1, and the differences were compared between strains germinated under the same conditions by two-tailed Student’s t test (***, P < 0.001; *****, P < 0.0001; NS, no significant difference). (E) Survival of wax moth larvae after topical infection with different strains. (F) Survival of fruit flies after topical infection with different strains. The mock control was treated with 0.05% Tween 20.