ABSTRACT
Mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, Zika, and chikungunya are a leading cause of concern among human populations worldwide. Increased incidences of these diseases are attributed to the challenges faced by mosquito control programs across the world. Currently chemical insecticides are widely used in mosquito control programs. There is now increasing evidence of development of insecticide resistance among mosquitoes to chemical insecticides. Further residual effects of chemical insecticides on non-target organisms including humans has resulted in our search for novel insecticides from biological sources. Three main sources that have been explored by the researchers are plant secondary metabolites, and entomopathogenic organisms from bacteria and fungi. Several novel molecules like cry toxin, avermectin from bacteria, and nicotine pyrethrum and azadirachtin from plants have been explored for their insecticidal efficacy. Though fungi produces a variety of secondary metabolites that hold the potential for novel insecticidal molecule, very few studies have been done on fungal secondary metabolites. This chapter tries to give a comprehensive account of entomopathogenic fungi and their secondary metabolites. In addition, the problems associated with the commercialization of secondary metabolites and the future of mycoinsecticides are also explored.
