In the realm of sericulture, ericulture stands as a beacon of hope for rural communities, fostering economic growth and livelihood prospects. However, the influence of disease, particularly flacherie, threatens to undermine this progress. To combat this menace, researchers embarked on a quest to unmask the causative agents behind bacterial flacherie in Samia ricini. For this, flacherie-infected larvae were collected, and hemolymph was isolated and streaked onto Petri plates having nutrient agar media. Yellowish colonies developed within 48-72 hours at 37 °C were subjected to identification through colony morphology study, biochemical tests, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The colonies were identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Stenotrophomonas rhizophila, and Kocuria rhizophila. The study reveals that the S. rhizophila, once deemed harmless, has the potential to cause bacterial flacherie in S. ricini and highlights their associated risks. This research documented the infestation of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Stenotrophomonas rhizophila, and Kocuria rhizophila in Samia ricini for the first time. This knowledge may further empower the sericulture industry to craft tailored solutions to mitigate flacherie, ensuring the resilience of rural livelihoods and the sustained growth of sericulture.
Pathogenicity, Coccus, Bacillus, NCBI BLAST, FESEM
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