Wireworm Microbiome

Wireworms (Elateridae) are important soil-borne pests in moderate climates, including several species and proven difficult to control using biological methods like entomopathogenic fungi (EPF). Variations in field efficacies using EPF may be related to soil-inhabiting or wireworm species-specific microbes. To investigate potential wireworm species-dependent microbiome differences, four species of Agriotes ssp. were analyzed using 16SrRNA and ITS amplicon sequencing combined with quantitative real-time PCR. This study contains 16SrRNA (515f/806r) and ITS (ITS1f/ITS2r) amplicon library reads of epiphytic and endophytic wireworm-associated communities, including corresponding reads of soil, as well as PCR- and extraction control samples for in silico decontamination.