Drosophila melanogaster is an outstanding model to study the molecular and functional basis of host-pathogen interactions. Currently, our knowledge of microbial infections in D. melanogaster is well understood; however, the response of flies to nematode infections is still in its infancy. Here, we have used the potent parasitic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae, which lives in mutualism with its...

Entomopathogenic nematode in vivo production depends on a high level of successful infection during the inoculation process. Some host–nematode combinations do not provide suYcient or consistent infection levels and are, therefore, not suitable for in vivo production. Our objective was to determine whether infection levels could be improved through host or nematode exposure to physical and chem...

Be it their pervasiveness, experimental tractability or their impact on human health and agriculture, nematode-bacterium associations are far-reaching research subjects. Although the omics hype did not spare them and helped reveal mechanisms of communication and exchange between the associated partners, a huge amount of knowledge still awaits to be harvested from their study. Here, I summarize ...

Effects of live and dead (heat-killed) infective juveniles (IJs) of the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae on nematodes associated with boxwood Buxus spp. were evaluated in field experiments during 1999 and 2000. Both living and dead IJs of S. carpocapsae were equally effective, causing more than 50% reduction in total populations of plant-parasitic nematodes relative to the cont...

The Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), is a cosmopolitan pest of stored products, infesting most commodities in warehouses and grain bins. We studied the susceptibility of Indianmeal moth adults and larvae to seven entomopathogenic nematode species and strains. The nematodes studied wereHeterorhabditis bacteriophora Poinar (HP88, Lewiston, andOswego strains); H. indicaPoinar,Karun...

Directly viewing soil-dwelling entomopathogenic and plant-parasitic nematodes in situ is difficult, if not impossible. As a result, researchers have developed a diverse array of bioassays which assess nematode behavioral traits within arenas designed to simulate various aspects of the natural habitat. However, reliably rendering what we can see in the laboratory into accurate predictions of how...

Various fluorescent conjugated lectins have been used for the detection of glycoconjugates on nematode surfaces under light microscopy. Several problems have been experienced with these reagents including penetration of the cuticle by fluorescent lectins, non-glycoconjugate specificity, strong nematode autofluorescence at the emission wavelength of the fluorescent dye, and prevention of persist...

Pathogenic effect of an indigenous entomopathogenic nematode, Heterorhabditis indica and commercial biopesticides of three fungal pathogens (M. anisopliae, B. bassiana and T. viride), one antagonistic bacteria (P. fluorescence), and two neem based biopesticides (Neem and Nimor) were tested on the Greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella larva under laboratory condition. The efficacy of the biopest...