Fall armyworm gut microbiome in rice

The current study focused on exposing FAW to three different cultivars, RT 7301, Diamond, and Jupiter grown in the mid-south region of the United States at two phenological stages, vegetative (V6) and reproductive (R3). The seed treatment used for the study was CruiserMaxx Rice plus Vibrance package, which is a combination of insecticide and fungicides with thiamethoxam as the insecticide component and Fludioxonil, Azoxystrobin, Mefenoxam, and Sedaxane as fungicides compounds. The fourth instar FAW was exposed to rice plants by confining them in organza bags (10.2 cm x 15.2 cm, Volcanic, Amazon, Seattle, Washington, USA), for 96 hours. Larva fed with artificial diet served as control. Larvae was collected and stored at -80 C, after which DNA extraction was carried out.