CEPAVE Collection of Pathogenic and Symbiotic Fungi of Insects and Other Arthropods

The collection originated in the late 1980s from surveys of pathogenic fungi from insects of public health and agricultural interest conducted at the Center for Parasitological and Vector Studies (CEPAVE), affiliated with the National University of La Plata and CONICET.The dataset includes records from infected arthropods, soil samples, and water bodies, collected in protected and open-field agricultural systems, urban areas, protected natural environments, and aquatic ecosystems.

The preserved strains belong mainly to the phyla Ascomycota, Entomophthoromycota, and Oomycota, including entomopathogenic fungi, facultative saprophytes, symbionts, and species with biotechnological potential.The collection houses three native type strains: Metarhizium argentinense, Conidiobolus lunulus, and Herpomyces spegazzinii. Additionally, some of the registered strains have been molecularly identified, and their germplasm has been preserved using various conservation methods, including deep-freezing, lyophilization, silica gel, sterile distilled water, and sterile filter paper.This dataset serves as a reference resource for studies on fungal biodiversity, taxonomy, ecology, the conservation of genetic resources, and the development of applications in biological control and biotechnology.