Exploitation of insect-associated Pseudomonas as sources of new bioactive compounds for sustainable insect pest control

Abstract

The role of the microbiota associated to organisms has received special attention recently, despite of the proposed theories in the pioneering work of Lynn Margulis more than half a century ago. Widespread attention to the potential of exploration of the microbiota emerged after advances in the understanding of the role of the microbiota in different human phenotypes, many of which related to human pathologies. Bacteria have served humanity as a reservoir of natural bioactive molecules, such as antibiotics and insecticides. Although Actinobacteria is the main group of bacteria studied for the isolation of new biomolecules, bacteria living in symbiosis with other organisms, such as insects are subject to different selection pressure mechanisms if compared to soil-associated bacteria . Thus, bacteria that establish symbiotic associations represent an unexplored reservoir of potential new bioactive molecules. This project aims to investigate the potential of different species and isolates of Pseudomonas that live in symbiosis with insects as a source of biomolecules with insecticidal activity against insect pests, using the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) as a biological model.