Suppression of rice planthopper populations without affecting the rice microbiota by the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae.

In this study, we investigated the potential of the fungal strain Metarhizium anisopliae CQMa421 to control rice planthoppers under field conditions and its effects on rice microbiota. This fungus suppressed rice planthoppers during this period, and its control efficiency was more than 60% 7 days post application and did not significantly differ from that of the chemical treatment except in 2019. Both treatments showed a lower population of rice planthoppers than the controls. After application, M. anisopliae was maintained on rice plants for approximately 14 days, showing a decreasing trend over time. Furthermore, the results showed that the bacterial and fungal richness (operational taxonomic units) and diversity (Shannon index) did not significantly differ between the fungal treatment and the controls after application. The major bacterial taxa of Proteobacteria (including Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Deltaproteobacteria), Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Cyanobacteria accounted for more than 80% of the bacterial community after fungal application, and the major fungal taxa of Ascomycota (including Eurotiomycetes, Dothideomycetes and Sordariomycetes), and Basidiomycota (including Ustilaginomycetes) represented more than 90% of fungal community. However, the microbial communities of the rice phyllosphere did not significantly change after entomopathogenic agent application, indicating that the indigenous microbial communities may adapt ...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Appl Environ Microbiol Source Type: research