Assessing the entomopathogenic nematode community associated with highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) in both agroecosystem and natural settings

Recent studies in the maize and citrus systems have shown the ability of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) to utilize herbivore-induced responses from plant roots for location insect hosts belowground. However, thus far no studies have considered natural habitats. The highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) is both a commercial small fruit commodity and native to North America. In New Jersey's Pinelands National Reserve (PNR), the natural populations of highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) and lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) from which most popular highbush blueberry varieties were domesticated are commonly found adjacent to commercial blueberry fields. In this agroecosystem, EPNs could be useful in managing larval feeding of the oriental beetle (Anomala orientalis), a root-feeding, invasive pest. We investigated the effects of plant domestication on the EPN community. Soil was sampled and plants were propagated from 5-10 pairs of domesticated and wild blueberry plant populations in the PNR. Soil samples taken from blueberry roots were baited with wax moth (Galleria mellonella) larvae to confirm presence of endemic EPNs as well as used to extract nematodes for molecular identification. The overall trend was for a higher EPN prevalence in soil from cultivated fields but a more diverse EPN community in natural stands.