Abstract
Honeydew from Hemipteran insects serves as carbohydrate source to beneficial insects but also to various microorganisms. Microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs) may play diverse roles in herbivore–microbe–natural enemy interactions. However, the functional significance of mVOCs from aphid honeydew remains largely unclear. In this study, a total of seven cultivable bacteria from Sitobion miscanthi honeydew have been isolated and identified based on 16S rRNA technique, which included Lysinibacillus fusiformis, Erwinia aphidicola, E. tasmaniensis, Acinetobacter bereziniae, Klebsiella quasipneumoniae subsp. Similipneumoniae, Staphylococcus capitis and Bacillus safensis subsp. safensis. One bacterial strain, L. fusiformis MH1, was found to be most attractive to Aphidius gifuensis parasitic wasp in Y-tube olfactometer. Two compounds, namely 1-ethyl-2-methylbenzene and 2-butyl-1-octanol, were emitted from L. fusiformis MH1 and were attractive to A. gifuensis and identified by using coupled gas chromatography–electroantennography and coupled gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Application of bacterial and mVOCs formulations in crop field resulted in significant aphid abundance decrease associated with higher parasitism rates compared with control. Our results indicated that some microbes in aphid honeydew could manipulate the herbivore–natural enemy interactions and could be developed as a novel alternative for environmentally friendly biological control of aphids.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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This work was supported by grants from the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2020MC121).
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Liu, J., Xiao, D., Liu, Y. et al. Chemical cues from honeydew-associated bacteria to enhance parasitism efficacy: from laboratory to field assay. J Pest Sci 97, 873–884 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-023-01687-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-023-01687-5