Entomopathogenic effects of different endophytic bacteria on Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval, 1833) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

This study was conducted in 2024-2025 in the laboratories of Ege University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Plant Protection. Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval, 1833) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is an important pest in Türkiye and causes extensive economic losses in many cultivated crops. During our field observations, some blackening and dead individuals were observed in Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say, 1824) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) larvae. As a result of the isolations made from blackened larvae and plant samples, 6 different bacterial isolates were obtained. Pseudomonas fluorescens Migula (Pseudomonadales: Pseudomonadaceae) strain 184, whose entomopathogenic effect was proven in our previous studies and molecular diagnosis and sequence analysis were performed, was also used in these tests. As a result of two seperated experiments, it was observed that endophytic bacteria isolates caused 20 to 93% mortality compared to untreated negative control. As a result of conventional and molecular identification and sequence analysis, the bacterial isolates with the highest entomopathogenic effect against S. littoralis larvae were isolates 441 and 442, which were definitively identified as Serratia marcescens J. and Enterobacter cloacae M. (Enterobacterales: Enterobacteriaceae), respectively. This study revealed that these bacteria may have potential for biological control against S. littoralis.

Keywords

• Biological control
• Enterobacter cloacae
• entomopathogenic bacteria
• Serratia marcescens
• Spodoptera littoralis

Farklı endofitik bakterilerin Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval, 1833) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) üzerindeki entomopatojenik etkileri

Öz

Bu çalışma 2024-2025 yıllarında Ege Üniversitesi Ziraat Fakültesi Bitki Koruma Bölümü laboratuvarlarında yürütülmüştür. Türkiye'de önemli bir tarım zararlısı olarak bilinen Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval, 1833) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), tarımsal ürünlere ciddi zararlar vermektedir. Saha gözlemlerimiz sırasında Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say, 1824) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) larvalarında bazı kararmalar ve ölü bireyler gözlemlenmiştir. Siyahlaşmış larva ve bitki örneklerinden yapılan izolasyonlar sonucunda 6 farklı bakteri izolatı elde edilmiştir. Daha önceki çalışmalarımızda entomopatojenik etkisi kanıtlanmış, moleküler tanı ve sekans analizi yapılmış olan Pseudomonas fluorescens Migula (Pseudomonadales: Pseudomonadaceae) 184 izolatı da bu testlerde kullanılmıştır. Elde edilen bakteri izolatlarının sağlıklı S. littoralis 2. dönem larvalarına karşı entomopatojenik etkilerini değerlendirmek için petri deneyleri gerçekleştirilmiştir. İki ayrı deneme sonucunda, endofitik bakteri izolatlarının uygulama görmemiş negatif kontrole kıyasla %20-93 oranında ölüme neden olduğu gözlemlenmiştir. Konvansiyonel ve moleküler tanılama ve sekans analizi sonucunda, S. littoralis larvalarına karşı en yüksek entomopatojenik etkiye sahip bakteri izolatları 441 ve 442 nolu izolatlar olmuştur ve bu izolatların sırasıyla Serratia marcescens J. ve Enterobacter cloacae M. (Enterobacterales: Enterobacteriaceae) olarak kesin tanısı yapılmıştır. Bu çalışma, söz konusu bakterilerin S. littoralis'e karşı biyolojik kontrol potansiyeli olabileceğini ortaya koymuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Biyolojik kontrol
• Enterobacter cloacae
• entomopatojenik bakteriler
• Serratia marcescens
• Spodoptera littoralis

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