Table 1_Immunological responses and gut microbial shift of fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda challenged with entomopathogens.docx

Biopesticides such as entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) and Bacillus thuringiensis present safer alternatives to chemical pesticides for FAW management. This study investigated the impact of Metarhizium anisopliae and B. thuringiensis on the mortality, cellular immune response, and microbiome of FAW under different temperature regimes (15 °C, 20 °C, 25 °C, 30 °C, and 35 °C).

M. anisopliae isolates ICIPE 7 and ICIPE 78 caused higher FAW larval mortality than B. thuringiensis isolates Bt43 and HD263 across all temperatures. M. anisopliae infection caused a more notable reduction in total hemocyte count (THC) in FAW, in contrast with B. thuringiensis infection, compared to control FAW groups. Plasmatocytes and granulocytes dominated the differential hemocyte counts in both challenged and control FAW larvae.