Abstract
Plant domestication is a powerful driver of ecological shifts in soil communities, yet its effects on tri-trophic interactions facilitating biological control involving entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) remain poorly understood. We investigated how the domestication of Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry) influences the distribution, composition, and host-location behavior of endemic EPN populations in cultivated blueberry fields and adjacent wild blueberry patches. We used quantitative PCR to characterize the EPN community and associated soil organisms across paired field sites. We also conducted olfactometer assays to test EPN behavioral responses to wild and domesticated plants with and without Anomala orientalis larvae. Our findings revealed a clear habitat partitioning, with Steinernema glaseri dominating cultivated fields and Steinernema spp. N7 and N10 being more prevalent in wild patches. Using the olfactometer assay, we observed distinct habitat-specific patterns: EPNs isolated from cultivated soils were more strongly attracted to domesticated blueberry roots, whereas those from wild soils responded preferentially to wild plants. Although neither group showed significant attraction to A. orientalis larvae alone, EPNs isolated from cultivated fields exhibited increased attraction to domesticated plants when insect larvae were present—consistent with a context-dependent ‘cry-for-help’ response. These findings suggest that domestication is likely to influence the structure and behavior of rhizosphere EPN communities, potentially by reinforcing long-term associations among plant genotypes, herbivores, and their natural enemies. Advancing our understanding of habitat-specific interactions will be essential to enhancing the specificity and efficacy of EPN-based biological control in agricultural systems.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Steinernema glaseri dominated cultivated blueberry fields.
- Taxon
- Vaccinium corymbosum
Vaccinium corymbosumt0 - Interactor
- Steinernema glaseriSteinernema glaserie0biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- Steinernema glaseri dominating cultivated fieldse0
- Setting
- cultivated fieldse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Steinernema glaseri dominating cultivated fields and Steinernema spp. N7 and N10 being more prevalent in wild patches.”
t0“Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)”
Claim · model-written summary
Steinernema spp. N7 was more prevalent in wild blueberry patches.
- Taxon
- Vaccinium corymbosumVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Interactor
- Steinernema spp. N7e0biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- Steinernema spp. N7e0
- Direction
- more prevalente0
- Setting
- wild patchese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Steinernema spp. N7 and N10 being more prevalent in wild patches.”
t0“Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)”
Claim · model-written summary
Steinernema spp. N10 was more prevalent in wild blueberry patches.
- Taxon
- Vaccinium corymbosumVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Interactor
- N10e0biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- N10e0
- Direction
- more prevalente0
- Setting
- wild patchese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Steinernema spp. N7 and N10 being more prevalent in wild patches.”
t0“Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)”
Claim · model-written summary
Nematodes from cultivated soils were more attracted to domesticated blueberry roots.
Verbatim
e0“EPNs isolated from cultivated soils were more strongly attracted to domesticated blueberry roots”
Claim · model-written summary
Nematodes from wild soils preferred wild blueberry plants.
- Taxon
- Vaccinium corymbosumVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Outcome
- responded preferentially to wild plantse0
- Direction
- preferentiallye0
- Setting
- wild soilse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“those from wild soils responded preferentially to wild plants.”
t0“Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)”
Claim · model-written summary
Neither nematode group showed significant attraction to A. orientalis larvae alone.
- Taxon
- Vaccinium corymbosumVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Interactor
- A. orientalis
Anomala orientalise0herbivore - Outcome
- attraction to A. orientalis larvae alonee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“neither group showed significant attraction to A. orientalis larvae alone”
t0“Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)”
Claim · model-written summary
Nematodes from cultivated fields had increased attraction to domesticated blueberry plants when larvae were present.
- Taxon
- Vaccinium corymbosumVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Interactor
- EPNse0biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- attraction to domesticated plantse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- when insect larvae were presente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“EPNs isolated from cultivated fields exhibited increased attraction to domesticated plants when insect larvae were present”
t0“Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)”