Associations between endophytic entomopathogenic fungi and Myzus persicae-tobacco-natural enemy interactions: links to volatile organic compound profiles and microbiome structure.
Jul 2026· Pest Management Science· 0 citations· 66 references
Medicine
TL;DR
This study advances the understanding of multitrophic regulation and lays the groundwork for integrating fungal endophytes into environmentally friendly pest control strategies.
Abstract
Background
Myzus persicae is a major tobacco pest that causes severe economic losses through rapid reproduction and virus transmission. Integrating endophytic entomopathogenic fungi with natural enemies offers a promising, sustainable management strategy. However, the mechanisms underlying four-trophic-level interactions (endophyte-plant-pest-natural enemy) are still poorly understood.
Results
Beauveria bassiana GL-5 and Cordyceps cateniannulata H8 both significantly inhibited aphid growth and reproduction. Strain-specific effects were observed: GL-5 enhanced parasitism by Aphidius gifuensis, whereas H8 reduced it. Fungal inoculation increased the female-to-male ratio in Aphidoletes aphidimyza but decreased it in Aphidius gifuensis. Furthermore, fungal inoculation reduced the emergence rates of both natural enemies and decreased the predation capacity of Aphidoletes aphidimyza. Fungal colonization also increased the diversity of tobacco volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and several tentatively identified VOCs may be linked to oviposition preference in Aphidoletes aphidimyza. Fungal treatments significantly reshaped microbial community composition and network complexity in aphid guts and tobacco leaves, altering dominant taxa (Buchnera, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, and Bradyrhizobium). Redundancy analysis suggested potential correlations among VOC profiles, microbial community shifts, aphid performance, and natural enemy behavior.
The results support the use of T. harzianum as an effective bioinoculant to enhance plant growth and suppress pests, offering a sustainable alternative to synthetic agrochemicals.
Blanca A. ESQUIVEL-AYALA, Margarita Vargas-SandÓVal, M. P. Chaires-Grijalva et al.· Pest Management Science· 0 citations
The positive effects of endophytic colonization on plant growth are associated with the production of bioactive metabolites by the species, via mechanisms that are not yet fully understood.
M. F. Ribeiro, J. P. L. Rocha, J. S. Pereira et al.· Brazilian Journal of Biology· 0 citations
Entomopathogenic fungi are increasingly considered for use as biological control agents. However, their effects in tripartite systems involving plants, herbivorous insects, and endophytic fungi remain context dependent and poorly understood. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that inoculation of barley with the entomopathogenic fungus Akanthomyces muscarius affects the biomass of aphids feeding on the plants and influences barley seedling size at early developmental stages. Seedling apical meristems of two barley cultivars, Golden Promise (GP) and Laureate (L), were inoculated with the fungus and subsequently exposed to feeding by the bird cherry-oat aphid Rhopalosiphum padi. Plant dry biomass and total aphid biomass per plant were measured at the end of the experimental period. Inoculation with A. muscarius did not significantly reduce total aphid biomass on either barley cultivar. By contrast, fungal inoculation significantly reduced seedling dry biomass in GP, whereas no such effect was detected in L. Linear mixed-effects modelling revealed significant effects of cultivar, inoculation, and their interaction on plant biomass, indicating cultivar-dependent plant responses to fungal colonisation. Total aphid biomass was significantly affected by cultivar but showed no consistent response to fungal inoculation. This study provides a controlled evaluation of a barley-A. muscarius-aphid tripartite system and highlights cultivar-specific outcomes of fungal inoculation under aphid feeding pressure.
Krzysztof Stawrakakis, C. Mitchell, Beatrix Keillor et al.· Arthropod-Plant Interactions· 0 citations
Overall, several fungal species successfully colonized plant tissues and reduced FAW performance through increased larval mortality, delayed development, and reduced feeding, and effects were associated with the production of bioactive secondary metabolites, induction of plant defense responses, and alteration of volatile organic compound emissions.
Nongamanégré Kouanda, Ibtissem Ben Fekih, M. Cokola et al.· Plants· 0 citations
Assessment of damage potential and sustainable management options in radish, a highly susceptible, short-duration crop that experiences both foliar and root damage, and the potential of native Beauveria bassiana isolates for integration into sustainable pest management programs highlights the potential of native entomopathogenic fungi for integration into sustainable pest management programs.
Benakashree Chandrakanth, Shanthi Mookiah, M. Marimuthu et al.· Archives of Microbiology· 0 citations
Bacterial diseases of horticultural crops are difficult to manage because pathogens can multiply rapidly on or within susceptible tissues, exploit wounds and natural openings, persist in propagation material, and respond inconsistently to bactericides under field conditions. Endophytic bacteria offer a biologically distinctive control strategy: unlike transient epiphytes or rhizosphere inoculants, successful endophytes occupy internal plant niches where they may compete with pathogens, release antibacterial metabolites, interfere with virulence, prime host defence and improve plant physiological resilience. This critical narrative review evaluates the evidence for endophyte-mediated control of bacterial diseases in fruit, vegetable and plantation horticulture, with particular emphasis on pomegranate bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas citri pv. punicae. Literature published from 1990 to 29 May 2026 was identified through accessible scholarly databases, citation chaining and DOI-level verification. Evidence across citrus canker, tomato bacterial spot and speck, kiwifruit canker, tomato bacterial wilt and canker, and pomegranate blight was appraised for endophytic status, experimental design, mechanism, disease suppression, field relevance and biosafety. The strongest general conclusion is that endophytic competence can improve persistence and spatial proximity to infection courts, but endophytic residence alone does not guarantee effective disease control. Antibiosis, lipopeptides, volatile compounds, niche competition and induced resistance are recurrent explanatory mechanisms, yet they are often inferred from correlated assays rather than established causally. Pomegranate represents one of the clearest recent advances: native Bacillus endophytes progressed from in vitro and polyhouse screening to two-season field evaluation, where disease index was reduced substantially. Even so, evidence remains concentrated in a small number of cultivars, locations and seasons, and the effects of formulation, orchard microbiome, application timing, pathogen population diversity and long-term ecological safety are unresolved. Endophytes should therefore be developed as components of integrated disease management rather than treated as stand-alone replacements for sanitation, clean planting material, surveillance and judicious chemical use. A translational framework is proposed that links strain identity, verified colonisation, mechanism, formulation, multi-environment efficacy and biosafety before commercial deployment.
M. Geetha, H. S. Ravikumar Patil, H. K. Kiran Kumar· Asian Journal of Agricultura...· 0 citations
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