Isolation and identification of fungal community of alfalfa pest weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in the Republic of Moldova

Abstract: The main objective was to investigate the fungal community of alfalfa pest weevils Hypera postica, Sitona lineatus and Protapion apricans in the Republic of Moldova and identify strains with potential for biological control development. Based on the nucleotide sequence of the ITS region, 19, 14, and 5 fungal strains were identified from H. postica, S. lineatus and P. apricans, respectively. Of these, 28 strains were taxonomically assigned at the species and 10 further strains at the genus level. In particular, four isolates were identified as entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana (3) and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (1). This is the first exploration of fungal communities of pest weevils in the Republic of Moldova. Revealed data offer useful information for subsequent studies in the development of microbial control agents.