Skip to main content
Entomology 2024 Main banner
Bayer Crop Science
Icon Legend
 
Oral Presentation
Oral Presentation
Poster Display
Poster Display
Student Competition
Student Competition
Ticketed Event
Ticketed Event
Back

Student 10-Minute Presentation

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Student

Student Competition

Grad 10-min Competition: P-IE, Behavior

Differential effects of plant age and seed treatment in rice (Oryza sativa) on gut microbial community of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)

Monday, November 11, 2024
10:54 AM – 11:06 AM MST
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 122 C, PCC
Oral Presentation Student Competition
The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a worldwide pest in rice, also seen in southeastern US. Due to its polyphagous nature and adaptability to various environmental factors, FAW damage is expected to increase with climate change. The gut microbiome, found to vary across life stages and host, is considered as a major contributor to FAW adaptability and invasiveness. In the US, current management strategies for FAW rely on use of chemical insecticides including a Thiamethoxam based seed treatment. In this study we examined whether FAW gut microbiome varies across rice varieties, plant age and seed treatment using 4th instar FAW. Our preliminary results suggest that all these factors significantly affected microbial diversity and community composition of gut microbiome, with Firmicutes as the most prevalent bacterial community followed by Proteobacteria. Further studies are underway to dissect the community composition to understand how these differences have cascading effects on host defense and FAW fitness.