Endophytic colonization of tomato by Beauveria bassiana decreased fitness and altered feeding behavior of whitefly Bemisia tabaci

Abstract

Abstract Whitefly Bemisia tabaci is a polyphagous super pest, which causes serious threat to agricultural production globally. Beauveria bassiana, as entomopathogenic fungi (EPF), can not only directly kill a variety of pests, but also inhibit the occurrence of pests as fungal endophytes within plants. In this study, we explored how the introduction of B. bassiana as endophytes into tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) affected the fitness and feeding behavior of whitefly. The result showed that there was significant difference in the fertility of B. tabaci on tomatoes treated with B. bassiana by root irrigation, B. bassiana by local leaf spray, and 0.05% Tween 80 solution, among which the number of eggs laid was the lowest on tomatoes treated with B. bassiana by root irrigation. Furthermore, B. tabaci fed on tomatoes treated with EPF by root irrigation showed significantly higher mortality rate in each stage than control plants with 0.05% Tween 80, by constructing the age-stage, two-sex life table. In addition, the intrinsic rate of increase (r), the finite rate of increase (λ) and the net reproductive rate (R0) of B. tabaci population on tomatoes treated with EPF by root irrigation were all significantly lower than control. Moreover, tomatoes treated by root irrigation had a significant negative effect on the feeding behavior of B. tabaci, by shortening the watery salivation and phloem ingestion. Our results indicated that B. bassiana effectively inhibited the occurrence of whitefly as endophytes. These findings enhanced our understanding about the inhibition of endophytic EPF on pests.