ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The biocontrol agent Aphidius gifuensis has widely been released and applied since 1997 to control Myzus persicae in tobacco fields of Yunnan Province, southwestern China, but its ecological effects on the local insect community and diversity have not been described. Biological control agents may effect a diversity of organisms as well as the target for control but such trophic cascades have seldom been studied. This study aimed to explore the effects of A. gifuensis on the insect community and diversity in tobacco fields after long-term release and expansion of the biocontrol agent in Yunnan Province. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of A. gifuensis on species composition, importance value, species richness, diversity indices and evenness index were studied for insect community samples obtained via field surveys and malaise trap collection in Yunnan Province. RESULTS: A total of 39 insect species and 1 spider, principally belonging to 40 families and 13 orders in tobacco fields of Yunnan Province were identified. Among these, there were 20 pests, 14 natural enemies and 6 others, constituting 50, 35 and 15% of total species sampled, respectively. Within insect communities, M. persicae, Empoasca flavescens and Drosophila melanogaster were the dominant species and Spodoptera litura, one unidentified species (Ichneumonidae), Sphex haemorrhoidalis, Vespa veutinaauraris, Aedes albopictus, A. gifuensis and Liriomyza huidobrensis were the subdominant species. From June to August, the relative density of A. gifuensis gradually increased and concomitantly the total relative density of other natural enemies exhibited a slight decline in July and marked increase in August. The relative density of M. persicae significantly increased in July and then declined precipitously in August. Moreover, the values of Simpson index, Shannon-Wiener index and Pielou index were greater than 0.50, 1.50 and 0.50, respectively, indicating high insect diversity. CONCLUSION: Beneficial insects, in addition to the biocontrol agent are relatively abundant in tobacco fields of Yunnan Province, marking improvement in the local insect community diversity after a long-term release of the biocontrol agent A. gifuensis, which, by land area, constitutes one of the largest natural enemy control programs in the world.
Subject(s)
Aphids/physiology , Insecta/physiology , Animals , Biodiversity , Biological Control Agents/metabolism , China , Ecosystem , NicotianaABSTRACT
[This corrects the article on p. 894 in vol. 7, PMID: 27379037.].
ABSTRACT
Black shank, caused by Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae, is a widespread and destructive disease of tobacco. Crop rotation is essential in controlling black shank. Here, we confirmed that rotating black shank-infested fields with rapeseed (Brassica napus) suppressed the incidence this disease. Further study demonstrated that rapeseed roots have a strong ability to attract zoospores and subsequently stop the swimming of zoospores into cystospores. Then, rapeseed roots secrete a series of antimicrobial compounds, including 2-butenoic acid, benzothiazole, 2-(methylthio)benzothiazole, 1-(4-ethylphenyl)-ethanone, and 4-methoxyindole, to inhibit the cystospore germination and mycelial growth of P. parasitica var. nicotianae. Thus, rapeseed rotated with tobacco suppresses tobacco black shank disease through the chemical weapons secreted by rapeseed roots.
ABSTRACT
The impact of inoculation with the biocontrol agent Bacillus subtilis on bacterial communities and bacterial diversity in rhizospheric soil of Nicotiana tabacum was assessed by constructing a 16S rRNA gene clone library and conducting amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA). The bacterial diversity was evaluated by coverage value (C), Shannon index (H), Pielou evenness index (E) and Margalef richness index (R). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the inoculation significantly affected the composition of bacterial communities in tobacco rhizospheric soil. A total of twelve bacterial groups including Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria (including α-, ß-, δ-, γ-Proteobacteria) , Planctomycetes, Firmicutes, Nitrospirae, Gemmatimonadetes, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi and Bacteroidetes were detected to be shared by inoculated soil and control soil. The community composition and proportions of different bacteria in the communities showed significant variations between the two samples. The dominant bacteria were Acidobacteria (27.1%) and Proteobacteria (26.5%) in control soil, while in the inoculated soil Proteobacteria (38.0%) and Acidobacteria (29.6%) were dominant. B. subtilis inoculation increased the numbers of γ-Proteobacteria and α-Proteobacteria but reduced the numbers of bacterial groups such as ß-Proteobacteria, Planctomycetes, Firmicutes. Diversity analysis showed that bacterial diversity was rich for both soil samples, and soil bacterial Shannon index and Margalef richness index were promoted after inoculation.
