Rev 05/10/2024
Hermaprodites, amphimictic females and males occur.
Hermaphrodites and females:
Males:
Hermaphrodites and females oviparous when young, ovoviviparous when older.
Infective juvenile:
Ref: Nguyen and Smart, 1996
Species can be grouped in three caldes: "Indica", "Bacteriophora" and "Megidis" (Dhakal et al., 2021).
Nematodes of the genera Steinernema and Heterorhabditis have been found on every continent except for Antarctica.
The following criteria characterize entomopathogenic nematodes (a modification of Koch's postulates):
Ref: Dillman, et al., 2012; Ye et al., 2018).
In the dauer stage of the infective juveniles (IJs) in the soil, Photorhabdus spp. are carried in a specialized region of the intestine.
The IJs invade the hemocoel of susceptible insect hosts. Bacteria are released in the insect hemocoel, where they overcome the insect's defense systems and produce numerous virulence factors such as hemolysin and cytotoxin. The insect host is killed, usually within 24-48 hours post-infection.
The bacteria proliferate to high levels in the insect cadaver and produce diverse antimicrobial compounds that suppress the growth of antagonistic microorganisms. Photorhabdus spp. also secrete an array of exoenzymes that stimulate macromolecular degradation.
Nematodes feed on the proliferating bacteria. They complete one to three generations within the cadaver. In species of Heterorhabditis, the IJs develop into self-fertile hermaphrodites which prduce the next generation. The secomd and subsequent generations in the cadaver are amphimictic and offspring are produced by cross fertilization involving males and females. In contrast, in species of Steinernema, with an exception of one species, all generations are produced by cross fertilization involving males and females (amphimictic).
Subsequent to the first generation, adult female body sizes of the nematode become smaller as nutrients are depleted. When nematode numbers become high and nutrients become limiting in the insect cadaver, nematode progeny re-associate with bacteria and differentiate into colonized, non-feeding IJs that emerge into the soil to forage for new hosts. (Kaya and Gaugler, 1993).
(Kaya and Gaugler, 1993; Ye et al., 2018)
Dhakal. M., Nguyen, K.B., Hunt, D.J., Ehlers. R-U., Spitidonov, S.E., Subbotin, S.A. 2021. Molecular identification, phylogeny and phylogeography of the entomopathogenic nematodes of the genus Heterorhabditis Poinar, 1976: a multigene approach. Nematology 23, 451-466.
Dillman, A.R., Chaston, J.M., Adams, B.J., Ciche, T.A., Goodrich-Blair, H., Stock, S.P., and Sternberg, P.W. 2012. An entomopathogenic nematode by any other name. PLoS Pathogen 8(3): e1002527, available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1002527.
Hunt, D.J. and Nguyen, K.B. 2016. Advances in Entonmopathogenic Nematode Taxonomy and Phylogeny. Nematology Monographs and Perspecives 12 Brill, Leiden.
Kaya, H.K., and Gaugler, R. 1993. Entomopathogenic nematodes. Annual Review of Entomology 38: 181�206.
Nguyen, K.B. and Smart, G.C. 1996. Identification of entomopathogenic nematodes in the Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae. J. Nemtology 28:286-300.
Ye, W. Foye, S., MacGuidwin, A.E., Steffan, S. 2018. Incidence of Oscheius onirici (Nematoda: Rhabditidae), a potentially entomopathogenic nematode from the marshlands of Wisconsin, USA. J. Nematology 50:9-26. DOI: 10.21307/jofnem-2018-004