Plant-associatedBacillusspp. alter life-history traits of the specialist insectBrevicoryne brassicaeL.

Abstract

1 Numerous soil-dwelling Bacillus species form mutualistic relationships with plants, in which the hosts derive an array of benefits, including the alteration of nutrient and chemical content. Despite such ubiquitous and intimate Bacillus-plant associations, the role of these bacteria in affecting the performance of specialist foliage-feeding insects is largely unknown. 2 We studied the effects of individual and mixed treatments of Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens on calabrese growth and important life-history characteristics and the population dynamics of the specialist phloem-feeding aphid Brevicoryne brassicae. 3 All Bacillus species negatively affected the life-history traits and supressed the populations of B. brassicae in varying magnitudes. The differences in aphid populations and number of leaves infested increased swiftly towards the end of the experiment and peaked 71 days after sowing. 4 Bacillus cereus was the most effective treatment in reducing B. brassicae growth rates, followed by the mixture of species, B. amyloliquefaciens and B. subtilis treatments. However, no synergistic or additive effects of bacteria were found. 5 Overall, plant growth promoting Bacillus species significantly suppress the growth and development of B. brassicae and show great potential for use in an integrated biological control programme for this pest.

Induced Systemic Resistance by a Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacterium Impacts Development and Feeding Behavior of Aphids

“…Hence, generalizing the effects of PGPR on aphid populations seems to be risky because responses are highly dependent on the set of involved species [47]. To our knowledge, the only study on B. amyloliquefaciens FZB42 and aphids had shown an alteration of the life traits of the aphid Brevicoryne brassicae on PGPR-treated calabrese plants [46], which is consistent with our observation of the decreased reproduction of A. pisum −E on PGPR-treated broad beans.…”

“…Several studies have reported various effects of PGPR on herbivorous insect development, including neutral [43,44], negative [17,[45][46][47], and positive effects [48,49]. Hence, generalizing the effects of PGPR on aphid populations seems to be risky because responses are highly dependent on the set of involved species [47].…”

Microbiome responses during virulence adaptation by a phloem‐feeding insect to resistant near‐isogenic rice lines

“…This diverse community of bacteria in the leafhopper microbiome may contribute in several ways to the insect herbivores. The community also included endophyte bacteria (Gadhave & Gange, ). Some of the endophyte bacteria that we detected could function in plant protection against insects and diseases, including leafhoppers, representing an important function of the plant microbiome that interacts with the leafhopper populations; however, bacterial function is difficult to determine from 16S sequencing.…”

“…This diverse community of bacteria in the leafhopper microbiome may contribute in several ways to the insect herbivores. The community also included endophyte bacteria (Gadhave & Gange, 2016 (Table S3). The bacterium Serratia marcescens is pathogenic to N. lugens (Niu, Liu, Li, & Guo, 2016).…”

Seed inoculation with beneficial rhizobacteria affects European corn borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) oviposition on maize plants

“…() who found that Bemisia tabaci nymphs developed faster and had higher survivorship after they fed on tomato plants that were pre‐inoculated with rhizobacteria. However, treatment of Calabrese (broccoli) with Bacillus species suppressed the growth and development of B. brassicae (Gadhave & Gange ). These studies suggest that the effects of PGPR treatment on insect pests can vary in relation to the feeding guild of insects.…”