The infectivity, incubation time, and reproduction of three heterorhabditid nematodes, Heterorhabditis sp. Bacardis and FL2122 strains and H. bacteriophora Poinar HP88 strain were studied in two insect hosts, an apionid weevil, Cylas formicarius (F.), and a pyralid moth, Galleria mellonella (L.). Two of the nematodes, Heterorhabditis sp. Bacardis and FL2122 strains, were of tropical or subtropi...

A soil survey for entomopathogenic nematodes was conducted throughout the nine islands of the Azorean archipelago. Forty-six out of 1,180 samples (3.9%) were positive, with Heterorhabditis spp. isolated from 30 sites on six islands and Steinernema spp. isolated from 16 sites on three islands. São Miguel and Terceira Islands were positive for both genera, and Pico Island was positive only for St...

The infectivity of four species of entomopathogenic nematodes, Steinernema carpocapsae (Weiser) [Breton strain], Steinernema riobrave Cabanillas, Poinar & Raulston [Weslaco strain], Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Poinar [HP88 strain], and Heterorhabditis indica Poinar, Karunakar & David [Coimbatore strain] was examined in the laboratory against two subterranean termites: Reticulitermes flavipes ...

A survey of entomopathogenic nematodes was conducted in the north Pacific (Guanacaste Conservation Area) and southeast Caribbean (Gandoca-Manzanillo Natural Refuge) regions of Costa Rica. Out of a total of 41 soil samples, 5 were positive for entomopathogenic nematodes (20.5%), with 3 (12.3%) containing Steinernema and 2 (8.2%) Heterorhabditis isolates. Morphological and molecular studies were ...

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) in the genera Steinernema and Heterorhabditis and their associated bacteria (Xenorhabdus spp. and Photorhabdus spp., respectively) are lethal parasites of soil dwelling insects. We collected 168 soil samples from five provinces, all located in southern Thailand. Eight strains of EPNs were isolated and identified to species using restriction profiles and sequenc...

Mutualistic association between entomopathogenic Photorhabdus bacteria and Heterorhabditis nematodes represents one of the emerging model systems in symbiosis studies, yet little is known about this partnership from a coevolutionary perspective. Herein, we investigated phylogenetic and cophylogenetic relationships of Heterorhabditis and Photorhabdus strains using molecular markers Internal Tran...

We describe 24 novel primers that amplify intron regions in housekeeping and structural genes of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. The cross-amplification potential of these primers in seven other Heterorhabditis species was determined. The results obtained showed interspecific nucleotide, length and splice site variability in the sequenced introns and for one gene, an intron gain was observed. Th...

In the present study, the entomopathogenic nematodes were recorded from 89 samples (5.37%) out of 1656 samples collected from 20 sites representing ecologically diverse types of habi ta ts in Meghalaya, India . Out of 89 positive samples, the frequency of occurrence of Steinernema spp. was found to be more (73.03%) than Heterorhabditis sp. (26.97%). All the EPN positive samples were from the fo...

The history of entomopathogenic nematology is briefly reviewed. Topic selections include early descriptions of members of Steinernema and Heterorhabditis, how only morphology was originally used to distinguish between the species; descriptions of the symbiotic bacteria and elucidating their role in the nematode- insect complex, including antibiotic properties, phase variants, and impeding host ...

More than a quarter of the world's population is infected with nematode parasites, and more than a hundred species of nematodes are parasites of humans [1-3]. Despite extensive morbidity and mortality caused by nematode parasites, the biological mechanisms of host-parasite interactions are poorly understood, largely because of the lack of genetically tractable model systems. We have demonstrate...