Beneficial Insects Deliver Plant Growth-Promoting Bacterial Endophytes between Tomato Plants

Abstract

Beneficial insects and mites, including generalist predators of the family Miridae, are widely used in biocontrol programs against many crop pests, such as whiteflies, aphids, lepidopterans and mites. Mirid predators frequently complement their carnivore diet by feeding plant sap with their piercing–sucking mouthparts. This implies that mirids may act as vectors of phytopathogenic and beneficial microorganisms, such as plant growth-promoting bacterial endophytes. This work aimed at understanding the role of two beneficial mirids (Macrolophus pygmaeus and Nesidiocoris tenuis) in the acquisition and transmission of two plant growth-promoting bacteria, Paraburkholderia phytofirmans strain PsJN (PsJN) and Enterobacter sp. strain 32A (32A). Both bacterial strains were detected on the epicuticle and internal body of both mirids at the end of the mirid-mediated transmission. Moreover, both mirids were able to transmit PsJN and 32A between tomato plants and these bacterial strains could be re-isolated from tomato shoots after mirid-mediated transmission. In particular, PsJN and 32A endophytically colonised tomato plants and moved from the shoots to roots after mirid-mediated transmission. In conclusion, this study provided novel evidence for the acquisition and transmission of plant growth-promoting bacterial endophytes by beneficial mirids.

Renegade Bacterial Genetic Sequences in a Stealth Adapted Virus: Biological and Diagnostic Implications

“…This could occur through the deletion of genes responsible for the typical species restricted growth of most animal cytomegaloviruses. Insects also commonly harbor endophytic bacteria [31].…”

Exchange of Microbiomes in Plant-Insect Herbivore Interactions

“…The transferred communities were most similar to those found in plant roots, even though S. titanus feeds on the stems of grapevines ( 56 ). This is not surprising, as a number of reports show plant root-colonizing bacteria, namely, PGPR, being transmitted to new plants via insects ( 79 , 80 ).…”

Stable, multigenerational transmission of the bean seed microbiome despite abiotic stress

“…Plant microbiomes can be assembled via both horizontal transmission from the environment and vertical transmission from the parent plant through the seed microbiome [8][9][10] . For seed transmission, microbial cells can either migrate through the vascular tissue or floral compartments and become packaged within the internal seed tissues or colonize seed surfaces [10][11][12][13][14] . During germination, seed microbiome members that first colonize the plant can determine priority effects and drive the trajectory of microbiome assembly [15][16][17] .…”