title: Distribution of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana in rice ecosystems and its effect on soil enzymes.
abstract: Fungal entomopathogens, especially Beauveria bassiana, are often studied within the context of their use in biological pest control; however, there is limited knowledge of their distributions in host plants and soil ecosystem. We examined the distribution of B. bassiana and its influence on rice plants and paddy soils. B. bassiana could only be detected on the foliar surfaces of rice plants within 15 days under Bb-4 (7.5 × 10(4) conidia/mL) and Bb-7 (7.5 × 10(7) conidia/mL) treatments. The endophytic colonization of B. bassiana could not be found in stems, roots, or seeds of rice plants under Bb-4 and Bb-7 treatments. The fungus was found only in the leaves of rice plants under Bb-4 and Bb-7 treatments at 15 days after inoculation. Moreover, B. bassiana was absent from paddy soils under Bb-4 and Bb-7 treatments at all times. Enzyme activity (urease and phosphatase) in the paddy soils of Bb-4 and Bb-7 treatments showed no significant difference from the control. It is possible that B. bassiana was not able to colonize paddy soil. Detailed understanding of distribution and ecological interactions of B. bassiana is helpful for understanding and predicting the effects of fungal entomopathogens on host populations, and the interactions among fungal entomopathogens and other organisms in the community.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Microbes and Functional Genomics, Jiangsu Engineering and Technology Research Center for Industrialization of Microbial Resources, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210046, The People's Republic of China, jiayong_2001@njnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Jia-Yu
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jia-Xi
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Yuan-Qing
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Bu
authors.forename: Chang-Hong
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chuan-Chao
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Dai
mesh_terms: D052982:Beauveria / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D004798:Enzymes / Q000737:chemistry; D012275:Oryza / Q000382:microbiology*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D004798:Enzymes; D012987:Soil