Diplogastrellus monhysteroides		Contents		Rev: 06/03/2025
		Classification		Biology and Ecology
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Diplogastrellus Menu		Economic Importance		Ecosystem Functions and Services
		Distribution		Management
Return to Diplogastridae Menu		Feeding		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

Chromadorea

Chromadoria

Rhabditina

            Diplogastroidea

Diplogastridae

                  

Diplogastrellus monhysteroides (Butschli, 1874) Paramonov, 1952

    Synonyms:

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Morphology and Anatomy:

	Females: Monodelphic, prodelphic, overy reflexed Males: Monorchic
Diplogastrellus monhysteroides female with dorsal tooth Photomicrograph from Ledon-Rettia et al., 2018

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Distribution:

Diplogastrellus monhysteroides is particularly abundant in horse and cow dung and has been reported from all continents except Antarctica (Kiontke and Sudhaus, 1996).

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Economic Importance:

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Feeding:

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Biology and Ecology:

The presence of the nematodes benefits body size,  larval development and life history of bothe male and female beetle hosts (Burdine et al., 2024; Ledon-Rettia et al., 2018).

During oviposition, female beetles deposit their gut microbiome and symbiotic nematodes into a fecal mass.  The microbes are consumed by beetle larvae.  The Diplogastrellus nematodes consume microbes in the fecal mass and increse in numbers. They colonize the developing beetle as it emerges from pupation. They are spread to other beetles during sexual contact.

The presence of the nematodes increases growth rate of beetle larvae and the adult body size, presumably due to effects on the bacterial and fungal communities in the brood ball (Burdine et al., 2024; Ledon-Rettia et al., 2018).

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Life Cycle:

Genital region of the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus with associated Diplogastrellus monhysteroides symbionts. Photograph from Ledon-Rettia et al., 2018

Diplogastrellus monhysteroides inhabit the fecal material comprising the brood ball developed by dung beetles to protect and nourish their offspring.  When a dung beetle deposits an egg in a brood ball, nematodes emerge from their dauer survival stage (J3) and feed on microbes within the dung; increasing to high population densities. As the beetle larva nears pupation, younger stages of the nematode again enter the dauer larval stage and colonize the genital region of the adult beetle as it emerges from the pupal stage.  The nematodes leave the brood ball with the beetle host and are transmitted to genital regions of other beetles during sexual activity (Ledon-Rettia et al., 2018).

Ecophysiological Parameters:

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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

The presence of the nematodes in dung balls increases growth rate of beetle larvae and the adult body size, presumably due to effects on the bacterial and fungal communities in the brood ball (Burdine et al., 2024; Ledon-Rettia et al., 2018).

Burdine et al., (2024) suggest that the use of ivermectin as anthelminthics for de-worming vertebrate hosts may result in residues in dung deposits. That may reduce abundance of symbiotic nematodes in the dung and, consequently, sublethat effects on development and growth of dung beetles.

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Management:

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References:

Burdine, L.W., Moczek, A.P., Rohner, P.T. 2024. Sexually transmitted mutualist nematodes shape host growth across dung beetle species. Ecologya and Evolution

Kiontke, K., and Sudhaus, W. 1996. Diplogaster (Diplogastrellus) cerea sp n from saguaro cactus rot and a revision of the subgenus Diplogastrellus (Nematoda:Diplogastridae). Nematologica 42:173-197.

Ledon-Rettia, C.C., Moczek, A.P., Ragsdale, E.J. 2018. Diplogastrellus nematodes are sexually transmitted mutualists that alter the bacterial and fungal communities of their beetle host. PNAS 115:10696-10701

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Copyright  1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: June 03, 2025.