ABSTRACT
For the last few years, an apparent increase in industrialization and urbanization, and limitations in environmental sustainability policies have resulted in climate change, which eventually complements the transmission of epidemic vector-borne diseases worldwide with special impact on tropical and subtropical countries. According to expert opinion, mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, and encephalitis have detrimental effects on health as well as on socioeconomic status. Though both government and international governing organizations have developed strategies to combat the transmission and subsequent health ailments, the lack of public awareness and the resistance shown by the mosquito vectors against the traditional vector control agents limits vector control programs. In this context, an innovative, integrated, and pragmatic approach to develop ecofriendly strategies is the need of the hour. In this regard, bioprospecting of entomopathogenic fungi as a potent biocontrol agent against mosquito vectors can be regarded as a promising alternative to vector control programs. Among the entomopathogenic fungi, Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana are the most exploited and potent biocontrol agents targeted toward a diversified range of mosquito vectors. The development of novel and innovative formulations and genetic manipulation strategies in these entomopathogenic fungi gives an inevitable dimension to the mosquito control strategies. In the present chapter, an insight into the pathogenicity profile of two entomopathogenic fungi, M. anisopliae and B. bassiana, and the genes involved in the pathogenicity are discussed.
