entomopathogenic nematodes

Seven Beneficial Entomopathogenic Nematodes for Chive Gnat Control /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Seven beneficial entomopathogenic nematodes including Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, H. indica, H. megidis, Steinernema ceratophorum, S. feltiae, S. hebeiense and S. litorale have been tested against Chive gnat, Bradysia odoriphaga. This insect pest is one of the most damaging pests of Chinese chive, Allium tuberosum. 

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Two biological agents for the control of strawberry root weevils /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Strawberry root weevils [Otiorhynchus ovatus] are one of the most important insect pests of strawberry crop.  Adults of strawberry root weevil feed on the edges of strawberry leaves [leaf notching] but this damage is not considered as economically important like the damage caused by their larval stages to strawberry roots [root pruning].

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Seven reasons to use beneficial nematodes as safer alternatives to pesticides /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Why beneficial nematodes are safer alternatives to pesticides- Nematodeinformation

To control insect pests in your organic garden, beneficial entomopathogenic nematodes are safer alternatives to chemical insecticides because.......

  1. Beneficial nematodes and their symbiotic bacterium have no detrimental effects on animals and plants.
  2. Both nematodes and their symbiotic bacteria do not cause any harm to the personnel involved in their production and application.
  3. Entomopathogenic nematode treated agriculture products are safe to handle and eat.
  4. Entomopathogenic nematodes and symbiotic bacteria do not have any pathogenic effects on humans or animals.
  5. When applied in the soil, entomopathogenic nematodes have also no negative effect on beneficial nematodes (bacteriovore, fungivore, omnivore and predatory) and other microbial communities.
  6. Entomopathogenic nematodes are also not harmful to the economically important beneficial insects such as honeybees.
  7. Finally, entomopathogenic nematodes are non-polluting and thus environmentally safe.

Storage temperature can influence beneficial nematode activity /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Several different species of white grubs including Anomala orientalis, Ataenius spretulus, Blitopertha orientalis, Cotinus nitida, Cyclocephala borealis, Cyclocephala pasadenae, Cyclocephala hirta, Exomala orientalis, Hoplia philanthus, Maladera castanea, Melolontha melolontha, Phyllophaga Spp. and Rhizotrogus majalis are major pests of turf grass.

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Three beneficial natural enemies for crane fly Tipula paludosa control /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Crane flies Tipula paludosa are one of important pests of turfgrass. Only larval stages (Fig. 1) of crane fly cause damage to turfgrass.  Crane fly adults are harmless to plants (Fig. 2). Crane fly larvae mainly feed on turfgrass roots and crowns but some time they can also feed on the turfgrass foliage.  The main symptom of crane fly damage that you will notice is the bare patches of dead turf in your lawn or golf courses.

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Entomopathogenic nematodes can even infect and kill citrus mealybugs /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Citrus mealybug Planococcus citri is a serious insect pest of many greenhouse plants as well as fruit crops in the field. There are different biological, chemical and cultural approaches available for the management of citrus mealybugs.

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Beneficial nematodes for control of termite Reticulitermes flavipes /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Eastern Subterranean Termite, Reticulitermes flavipes are the most destructive and economically important pest of wood industry.  Current research shows that the entomopathogenic nematodes also called beneficial nematodes have a potential to use as environmentally safe biological control agents against termites.

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Biological control of Fuller rose beetle with beneficial nematodes /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Fuller rose beetle, Asynonychus godmani- Nematode Information

Fuller rose beetle, Asynonychus godmani is one of the most economically important pests of roses and citrus.  A laboratory study conducted by Morse and Lindegren (1996) showed that an entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae caused a maximum 67 and 83% mortality of three week old larvae and adults of the Fuller rose beetle, Asynonychus godmani with 500 and 150 nematode infective juveniles, respectively. Subsequent field study also showed that the application of nematodes significantly reduced the emergence of adult fuller rose beetles in the second year after nematode application. This suggests that the applied entomopathogenic nematodes were recycled and persisted in the field for two years.

Influence of entomopathogenic nematodes on reproduction of Rhipicephalus microplus /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Tick, Rhipicephalus microplus is one of most import insect pests of live stocks including cattle, buffalo, horses, donkeys, goats, sheep, deer, pigs and dogs. This tick is known for transmitting cattle fever, which is caused by the protozoal parasites including Babesia bigemina and Babesia bovis.

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A novel entomopathogenic nematode formulation to attract insect pests /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera and entomopathogenic nematodes

In this formulation, entomopathogenic nematodes were encapsulated in the capsules, which were prepared from several compounds including a polysaccharide extracted from the algae, Laminaria spp. According to Hiltpold et al., (2012), these entomopathogic nematode-filled capsules are easy to apply in the field and from these capsules entomopathogenic nematodes can easily break through, and successfully infect insect pests such as Western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera. Also, these nematode-filled capsules can attract insect pests in the field if they are coated with insect food stimulant or attractants.

Literatures:

Hiltpold, I., Hibbard, B.E., French, B.W. and Turlings, T.C.J. 2012. Capsules containing entomopathogenic nematodes as a Trojan horse approach to control the western corn rootworm. Plant and Soil 358: 10-24.

Research papers presented on entomopathogenic nematodes at 51st SON Annual Meeting /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Research papers on entomopathogenic nematodes and their symbiotic bacteria

Following 12 research papers on entomopathogenic nematodes and their symbiotic bacteria were presented at the Society of Nematologists 51st Annual meeting, which was held in Savannah, Georgia from August 12th -15th, 2012.

  1.  Ali, J.G., Alborn, H.T., Campos-Herrera, R., Kaplan, F.,Duncan, L.W., Rodriguez-Saona, C., Koppenhöfer, A.M. and L.L. Stelinski, L.L. 2012. Herbivore induced plants volatiles and entomopathogenic nematodes as agents of plant indirect defense.
  2. Bal, H.K.,Taylor, R.A.J. and Grewal, P.S.2012. Ambush foraging entomopathogenic nematodes employ ‘sprinting emigrants’ for long distance dispersal in the absence of hosts.
  3. Blackburn, D. andAdams, B.J.2012. Evolution of virulence in an entomopathogenic nematode symbiont.
  4. Campos-Herrera, R., ElBorai, F.E. andDuncan, L.W. 2012. Manipulating soil food webs in aFloridaorganic citrus orchard to enhance biocontrol by entomopathogenic nematodes.
  5. Dillman, A., Mortazavi, A., Hallem, E. and Paul W. Sternberg, P.W. 2012. Host-seeking, olfaction, foraging strategies, and the genomic architecture of parasitism among Steinernema nematodes.
  6. Griffin, C.T., Dillon, A.m.,Harvey, C.D. and C.D. Williams, C.D. 2012. Multitrophic interactions involving entomopathogenic nematodes applied against pine weevils in a forest ecosystem.
  7. Lancaster, J.D, Mohammad, B. and Abebe, E. 2012. Entomopathogenic symbiosis of Caenorhabditis briggsae KT0001 and Serratia sp. SCBI: Analysis of fitness.
  8. Noguez, J., Conner, E.S., Zhou, Y., Ciche, T.A., Ragains, J.R. and Butcher, R.A. 2012.  A novel ascaroside controls the parasitic life cycle of the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora.
  9. Pathak, E., Campos-Herrera, R., ElBorai, F.E., Stuart,R.J., Graham, J.H. andDuncan, L.W. 2012. Environmental factors affecting community structure of nematophagus fungi and their prey inFloridacitrus groves.
  10. Shapiro-Ilan, D.I., Leskey, T.C., Wright, S.E., Brown,I.and Fall, L. 2012. Entomophathogenic nematodes: Effects of the soil agroecosystem on biological control potential.
  11. Somasekhar Nethi, S. Jagdale, G.B. and Grewal, P.S. 2012. Interactions among entomopathogenic nematodes and other nematode trophic groups and plants in agroecosystems.
  12. Zeng Qi Zhao, Z.Q., Davies, K.A., Brenton-Rule, E.C., Grangier, J., Gruber, M.A.M., Giblin-Davis, R.M. and Lester, P.J. 2012. New Diploscapter sp. (Rhabditida: Diploscapteridae) from the native ant, Prolasius advenus, inNew Zealand.

Seminars on Entomopathogenic Nematodes and Multitrophic interactions in the soil /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Symposium on Entomopathogenic Nematodes and Multitrophic interactions- nematodeinformation Three researchers including Raquel Campos-Herrera, Claudia Dolinski and Ganpati B. Jagdale have organized a Symposium entitled “Entomopathogenic Nematodes and Multitrophic interactions in the Rhizosphere” at the Society of Nematologists 51st Annual meeting, which would be held in Savannah, Georgia from August 12th to 15th 2012.  In this symposium, four seminar on the following research areas will be presented by different speakers starting at  8.0am on Tuesday August 14, 2012, Marriot Riverfront hotel, Savanna, GA.

 

Seminar topics and speakers:

  1. Multitrophic interactions involving entomopathogenic nematodes applied against pine weevils in a forest ecosystem by Christine T. Griffin, A.M. Dillon, C.D. Harvey and C.D. Williams.
  2. Entomophathogenic nematodes: Effects of the soil agroecosystem on biological control potential by David I. Shapiro-Ilan, T.C. Leskey, S.E. Wright, I. Brown, and L. Fall.
  3. Interactions among entomopathogenic nematodes and other nematode trophic groups and plants in agroecosystems by Somasekhar Nethi, G.B. Jagdale and P.S. Grewal.
  4. Herbivore induced plants volatiles and entomopathogenic nematodes as agents of plant indirect defense by Jared G. Ali, H.T. Alborn, R. Campos-Herrera, F. Kaplan, L.W. Duncan, C. Rodriguez-Saona, A.M. Koppenhöfer, and L.L. Stelinski.

Use of real-time PCR in insect nematology /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Entomopathogenic nematodes and RT-PCR- nematodeinformation

Read following papers on the real-time PCR and Insect Nematology

Bae, S. and Kim, Y. 2003.   Lysozyme of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua: activity induction and cDNA structure. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology B-Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 135: 511-519.

Campos-Herrera R, El-Borai F.E., Stuart R.J., Graham J.H., DuncanL.W. 2011. Entomopathogenic nematodes, phoretic Paenibacillus spp., and the use of real time quantitative PCR to explore soil food webs inFlorida citrus groves. Journal Invertebrate Pathology 108:30-9.

Campos-Herrera, R., Johnson, E. G, El-Borai, F. E., Stuart, R. J., Graham, J. H. and Duncan, L. W.2011. Long-term stability of entomopathogenic nematode spatial patterns in soil as measured by sentinel insects and real-time PCR. Annals of Applied Biology 158: 55-68.

Ciche, T.A. and Sternberg, P.W. 2007.  Postembryonic RNAi in Heterorhabditis bacteriophora: a nematode insect parasite and host for insect pathogenic symbionts. BMC Developmental Biology 7, Article Number: 101.

Ji, D.J. and Kim, Y. 2004.   An entomopathogenic bacterium, Xenorhabdus nematophila, inhibits the expression of an antibacterial peptide, cecropin, of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua. Journal of Insect Physiology 50: 489-496.

Park, D., Ciezki, K., van der Hoeven, R., Singh, S., Reimer, D., Bode, H.B. and Forst, S. 2009. Genetic analysis of xenocoumacin antibiotic production in the mutualistic bacterium Xenorhabdus nematophila. Molecular Microbiology 73: 938-949.

Pathak, E., El-Borai, F.E., Campos-Herrera, R., Johnson, E.G., Stuart, R.J., Graham, J.H. and Duncan, L.W. 2012.  Use of real-time PCR to discriminate parasitic and saprophagous behaviour by nematophagous fungi.  Fungal Biology 116: 563-573.

Shrestha, Y.K. and Lee, K.Y. 2012. Oral toxicity of Photorhabdus culture media on gene expression of the adult sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 109: 91-96.

Son, Y. and Kim, Y. 2011.  Immunosuppression induced by entomopathogens is rescued by addition of apolipophorin III in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 106: 217-222.

Song, C.J., Seo, S., Shrestha, S. and Kim, Y.  2011. Bacterial Metabolites of an Entomopathogenic bacterium, Xenorhabdus nematophila, inhibit a catalytic activity of phenoloxidase of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella. Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 21: 317-322.

Torr, P., Spiridonov, S.E., Heritage, S. and Wilson, M.J. 2007. Habitat associations of two entomopathogenic nematodes: a quantitative study using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reactions. Journal of Animal Ecology 76: 238-245.

We know now where infective juveniles store their symbiotic bacteria /  by Ganpati Jagdale

It has been always reported that the infective juveniles of Steinernema spp. carry their symbiotic bacteria, Xenorhabdus spp. in a special intestinal vesicle (Bird and Akhurst, 1983) whereas the infective juveniles of Heterorhabdits spp. carry their symbiotic bacteria, Photorhabdus spp. in the anterior part of the intestine (Boemare et al., 1996) and release them in the body cavity of their insect hosts.

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Why scavengers avoid eating beneficial nematode infected insect cadavers /  by Ganpati Jagdale

As we know that the entomopathogenic (beneficial) nematode infected insect cadavers are like pouches that are filled with different developing stages of entomopathogenic nematodes such as Steinernema spp or Heterorhabditis spp and soup of their multiplying symbiotic bacteria in the genera Xenorhabdus or Photorhabdus, respectively. 

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Steinernema feltiae attracts to cues from slugs /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Scavenging and entomopathogenic nematodes

It has been demonstrated that an entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema feltiae that only infect and kill their insect host but it can also be attracted to the cues released from the slug cadavers suggesting that entomopathogenic nematodes can feed on carcasses of other organisms (Nermut et al., 2012).

Read following literature on scavenging behavior and entomopathogenic nematodes

Baur, M.E., Kaya, H.K. and Strong, D.R. 1998. Foraging ants as scavengers on entomopathogenic nematode-killed insects. Biological Control 12: 231-236.

Foltan, P. and Puza, V. 2009. To complete their life cycle, pathogenic nematode-bacteria complexes deter scavengers from feeding on their host cadaver.  Behavioural Processes 80: 76-79.

Nermut, J., Puza, V. and Mracek, Z. 2012.  The response of Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita (Nematoda: Rhabditidae) and Steinernema feltiae (Nematoda: Steinernematidae) to different host-associated cues. Biological Control 61: 201-206.

Puza, V. and Mracek, Z. 2010.   Does scavenging extend the host range of entomopathogenic nematodes (Nematoda: Steinernematidae)?  Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 104: 1-3

San-Blas, E. and Gowen, S.R. 2008.   Facultative scavenging as a survival strategy of entomopathogenic nematodes. International Journal for Parasitology 38: 85-91.

San-Blas, E. and Gowen, S.R. and Pembroke, B. 2008.  Scavenging or infection? Possible host choosing by entomopathogenic nematodes. Nematology 10: 251-259.

Temperature influences the virulence of beneficial nematodes against mustard beetles /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Interaction between entomopathogenic nematodes and mustard beetles- Nematodeinformation It has been demonstrated that the virulence of Heterorhabditis indica and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora against the pupae of mustard beetle, Phaedon cochleariae was high at 30oC but the virulence of Steinernema carpocapsae and Steinernema feltiae was high at 25oC (Mahar et al., 2012).

Literature:

Mahar, A.N., Jan, N.D. and Mahar, A.Q. 2012.  Comparative effectiveness of entomopathogenic nematodes against the pupae of mustard beetle, Phaedon cochleariae F. (Chrysomelidae: Coleoptera). Pakistan Journal of Zoology 44: 517-523.

Control white grub with beneficial nematodes-Nematode information /  by Ganpati Jagdale

Efficacy of entomopathogenic nematodes against white grub, Holotrichia longipennis Today, I read a paper published in Journal of Pest Science by Khatri-Chhetri et al. (2011), who tested the efficacy of two newly isolated entomopathogenic nematode species from Nepal against white grub, Holotrichia longipennis.  This white grub is a very serious pest of many crops including black gram, cabbage, chilies, maize, millet, paddy soybean and tomato. 

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