Susceptibility Response of Spodoptera littoralis to Insecticides of Assorted Classes Via Insecticide-Degrading Bacteria in Its Gut

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Plant Protection Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Al-Sabhia, Alexandria, Egypt.

2 Agricultural Botany Department, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, Alexandria 21531, Egypt.

Abstract

Changes in susceptibility of Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were investigated against some insecticides. Newly hatched eggs collected from “Al-Qnawiyah,” in El-Behira governorate were reared on cotton leaves of the same location up to the 4th instar in the laboratory to gain the 1st generation of field strain (1GFS) owned habitual gut-bacteria (HGB) versus free gut-bacteria (FGB) reared on leaves treated with antibiotics. HGB revealed less susceptibility than FGB realized by LC50 ratios (HGB/ FGB) of lufenuron, emamectin benzoate, chlorpyrifos and alpha-cypermethrin with 15.38, 5.08, 3.39 and 2.17 folds in, respectively. Isolated strains from the 4th instar’s gut were molecularly sequenced for 16S rRNA gene as Enterobacter cloacae Ag10, Pseudomonas aeruginosa Fs40 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Fs30. These isolates were submitted for growth activity confirmation test for 3 days of cultivation on insecticide-based minimal medium 9 (from 20 to 500 mg L-1) versus glucose-based medium (control). E. cloaca Ag10 grew on all concentrations of alpha-cypermethrin likewise P. aeruginosa Fs40 on lufenuron and chlorpyrifos. P. aeruginosa Fs30 did not grow on lufenuron but was limited on the others. Semi-field trials in two successive seasons of cotton crop in the foregoing site against the 4th instar of 1GFS showed the long-term toxicity of these insecticides against FGB more than HGB. Therefore, the identified gut-bacterial strains are the hidden cause behind susceptibility shifts in S. littoralis to these insecticides. 

Keywords