| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>The entomopathogenic fungus <it>Metarhizium anisopliae </it>isolate IP 46, originating from a soil sample collected in 2001 in the Cerrado of Central Brazil, was tested for its ability to reduce the survival of adult male and female <it>Anopheles gambiae </it>s.s. and <it>An. arabiensis </it>mosquitoes. A 6-h exposure to the fungus coated on test paper at a concentration of 3.3 × 10<sup>6 </sup>conidia cm<sup>-2 </sup>reduced the daily survival of both mosquito species (HR = 3.14, <it>p </it>< 0.001), with higher risk of dying in <it>An. gambiae </it>s.s relative to <it>An. arabiensis </it>(HR = 1.38, <it>p </it>< 0.001). Fungal sporulation was observed in >95% of mosquito cadavers in the treatment groups. The results indicate that <it>M. anisopliae </it>IP 46 has the potential to be a bio-control agent for African malaria vector species, and is a suitable candidate for further research and development.</p>
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