Abstract
The current work is aimed at isolating and identifying new Entomopathogenic bacterium (EPB) strains associated with
Steinernema feltiae
and assessing the EPB’s biocontrol potential on
Aphis punicae
and
Aphis illinoisensis
adults in the laboratory. From
S. feltiae
, five bacterial isolates were isolated and molecularly characterized.
Lysinibacillus xylanilyticus
strain TU-2,
Lysinibacillus xylanilyticus
strain BN-13,
Serratia liquefaciens
strain TU-6,
Stenotrophomonas tumulicola
strain T5916-2-1b, and
Pseudochrobactrum saccharolyticum
strain CCUG are the strains. Pathogenicity tests demonstrated that bacterial cells were more toxic against the two aphid species than bacterial cell-free supernatants.
S. tumulicola
strain T5916-2-1b cells and filtrate were reported to have the strongest potential to kill
A. punicae
and
A. illinoisensis
individuals within 6 h after treatment, with 100% mortality of both insects 24 and 48 h after treatment. Based on the results of the study, it looked like endogenous
Steinernema
-associated EPB could be used directly as a biocontrol agent for
A. punicae
and
A. illinoisensis
.