Journal of Biological Control

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Report of a Mermithid Nematode Infecting Amyna axis, Chrysodeixisspp. and Spodoptera Spp. from India


Affiliations
1 Agriculture Research Station, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Banswara - 327001, Rajasthan, India
2 Division of Nematology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, PUSA Campus, New Delhi - 110012, India
 

Amyna axis (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), Chrysodeixis spp. (C. acuta and C. eriosoma) and Spodoptera spp. (S. exigua and S. litura) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) are important polyphagous insect-pests of leguminous crops. A mermithid (Nematoda: Mermithidae) nematode was found parasitizing the larval stages of these insects in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. Morphological and molecular analysis suggests that the nematode might be a species of the genus Hexamermis. The average length of post-parasitic nematode juveniles was 15 cm, and the average greatest body width was 1.5 mm. The vulva was median (V% = 48) without vulval flap. Approximately 100-125 μm long caudal appendages were present on tail. The cross-section revealed the presence of six hypodermal chords at the mid body region, and stichosome was present. The 18S rDNA sequence showed 99% similarity to mermithid nematode. A phylogenetic analysis of 18S rDNA sequences of mermithids resulted in identification of a new clade “Lineage 3” which included representatives of Mermis sp., Isomermis sp., Limnomermis sp., and Pheromermis sp. This is the first report of natural mermithid parasitism of A. axis and Chrysodeixis spp. along with its molecular characterization.


Keywords

Amyna Axis, Chrysodeixis, Hexamermis, Mermithid, Soybean, Spodoptera
User
Notifications

  • Bhatnagar V, Pawar CS, Jadhav DR, Davies JC. 1985. Mermithid nematodes as parasites of Heliothis spp. and other crop pests in Andhra Pradesh, India. Proc Indian Acad Sci Animal Sci. 94: 509–515. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03186360

  • Bik HM, Lambshead PJD, Thomas WK, Lunt DH. 2010. Moving towards a complete molecular framework of the Nematoda: a focus on the Enoplida and early-branching clades. BMC Evol Biol. 10: 353. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-10-353 PMid:21073704 PMCid:PMC2995457

  • Devasahayam S, Abdulla-Koya KM. 1994. Seasonal incidence of Hexamermis sp. (Dor., Mermithidae) parasitising larvae of top shoot borer Cydia hemidoxa Meyr. (Lep., Tortricidae) on black pepper. J Appl Entomol. 117: 31–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0418.1994.tb00704.x

  • Floyd R, Abebe E, Papert A, Blaxter M. 2002. Molecular barcodes for soil nematode identification. Molecular Ecol. 11: 839– 850. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-294X.2002.01485.x PMid:11972769

  • Gill AK, Arora R, Jindal V. 2015. Beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua (Hubner): A newly emerging pest of Egyptian clover in Punjab. Range Manag Agroforestry 36: 170–174.

  • Kamminga KL, Davis JA, Stock SP, Richter AR. 2012. First report of a mermithid nematode infecting Piezodorus guildinii and Acrosternum hilare (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in the United States. Fla Entomol. 95: 214–217. https://doi.org/10.1653/024.095.0137

  • Kaya HK, Stock SP. 1997. Techniques in insect nematology, pp. 281-324. In: Lacey L (Ed.). Manual of Techniques in Insect Pathology. London, UK. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012432555-5/50016-6

  • Larose C, Schwander T. 2016. Nematode endoparasites do not codiversify with their stick insect hosts. Ecol Evol. 6: 5446–5458. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2264 PMid:27551395 PMCid:PMC4984516

  • Meena AK, Nagar R, Swaminathan R. 2016. Occurrence of genus Amyna (Noctuidae: Bagisarinae) among the semilooper complex infesting soybean at Udaipur. J Entomol Zool Stud. 5: 949–953.

  • Nickle W. 1981. Mermithid parasites of agricultural pest insects. J Nematol. 13: 262–266. PMid:19300760 PMCid:PMC2618092

  • Petersen JJ. 1985. Nematodes as biological control agents: Part I. Mermithidae. Adv Parasitol. 24: 307–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-308X(08)60565-5

  • Platzer A, Platzer EG. 1985. Permeability of the body wall of Romanomermis culicivorax to Lanthanum. J Nematol. 17: 261–269. PMid:19294092 PMCid:PMC2618473

  • Poinar GO Jr. 1975. Entomogenous nematodes: A Manual and Host List of Insect-nematode Associations. Brill, Leiden. 317 pp. PMid:19308185 PMCid:PMC2620133

  • Poinar GO Jr., Mondet B, Gouteux JP, Laveissiere C. 1981. Hexamermis glossinae sp. nov. (Nematoda: Mermithidae), a parasite of tse-tse flies in West Africa. Can J Zool. 59: 858–861. https://doi.org/10.1139/z81122

  • Poinar GO Jr., Chang P. 1985. Hexamermis cathetospiculae n. sp. (Mermithidae: Nematoda), a parasite of the rice stemborer, Tryporyza incertulus (Wlk.) (Pyralidae: Lepidoptera) in Malaysia. J Nematol. 17: 360–363. PMid:19294107 PMCid:PMC2618465

  • Rahaman PF, Sharma SB, Wightman JA. 2000. A review of insect-parasitic nematodes research in India: 1927–1997. Int J Pest Manage. 46: 19–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/096708700227543

  • Rubstov IA. 1976. Mermithids (Nematoda, Mermithidae) – parasites of insects from Mongolia. pp. 596–614. In: Insects of Mongolia. Part 4. (Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Ed.) . Nauka, Leningrad.

  • Singh OP, Singh KJ. 1991. Economic threshold level for green semilooper, Chrysodeixis acuta (Walker) on soybean. Trop Pest Manage. 37: 399–402. https://doi.org/10.1080/09670879109371624

  • St-Onge M, Larue B, Charpentier G. 2008. A molecular revision of the taxonomic status of mermithid parasites of black flies from Quebec (Canada). J Invertebr Pathol. 98: 299–306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2008.04.001 PMid:18511068

  • Stubbins FL, Agudelo P, Reay-Jones FP, Greene JK. 2015. First report of a mermithid nematode infecting the invasive Megacopta cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) in the United States. J Invertebr Pathol. 127: 35–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2015.02.008 PMid:25731127

  • Subbotin SA, Waeyenberge L, Moens M. 2000. Identification of cyst-forming nematodes of the genus Heterodera (Nematoda: Heteroderidae) based on the ribosomal DNA-RFLPs. Nematology 2: 153–164. https://doi.org/10.1163/156854100509042

  • Tamura K, Stecher G, Peterson D, Filipski A, Kumar S. 2013. MEGA6: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis version 6.0. Mol Biol Evol. 30: 2725– 2729. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/mst197 PMid:24132122 PMCid:PMC3840312

  • Tripodi AD, Strange JP. 2018. Rarely reported, widely distributed, and unexpectedly diverse: molecular characterization of mermithid nematodes (Nematoda: Mermithidae) infecting bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus) in the USA. Parasitology 145: 15581563. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182018000410

  • Villemant C, Zuccon D, Rome Q, Muller F, Poinar Jr. GO, Justine J. 2015. Can parasites halt the invader? Mermithid nematodes parasitizing the yellow-legged Asian hornet in France. Peer J. 3: e947. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.947 PMid:26038716 PMCid:PMC4451032

  • Yoder M, De Ley IT, King IW, Mundo-Ocampo M, Mann J, Blaxter M, Poiras L, De Ley P. 2006. DESS: a versatile solution for preserving morphology and extractable DNA of nematodes. Nematology 8: 367–376. https:// doi.org/10.1163/156854106778493448


Abstract Views: 279

PDF Views: 116




  • Report of a Mermithid Nematode Infecting Amyna axis, Chrysodeixisspp. and Spodoptera Spp. from India

Abstract Views: 279  |  PDF Views: 116

Authors

S. Ramesh Babu
Agriculture Research Station, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Banswara - 327001, Rajasthan, India
Victor Phani
Division of Nematology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, PUSA Campus, New Delhi - 110012, India
P. K. Meena
Agriculture Research Station, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Banswara - 327001, Rajasthan, India
Khushbu Chauhan
Division of Nematology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, PUSA Campus, New Delhi - 110012, India
M. R. Khan
Division of Nematology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, PUSA Campus, New Delhi - 110012, India
V. S. Somvanshi
Division of Nematology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, PUSA Campus, New Delhi - 110012, India

Abstract


Amyna axis (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), Chrysodeixis spp. (C. acuta and C. eriosoma) and Spodoptera spp. (S. exigua and S. litura) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) are important polyphagous insect-pests of leguminous crops. A mermithid (Nematoda: Mermithidae) nematode was found parasitizing the larval stages of these insects in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. Morphological and molecular analysis suggests that the nematode might be a species of the genus Hexamermis. The average length of post-parasitic nematode juveniles was 15 cm, and the average greatest body width was 1.5 mm. The vulva was median (V% = 48) without vulval flap. Approximately 100-125 μm long caudal appendages were present on tail. The cross-section revealed the presence of six hypodermal chords at the mid body region, and stichosome was present. The 18S rDNA sequence showed 99% similarity to mermithid nematode. A phylogenetic analysis of 18S rDNA sequences of mermithids resulted in identification of a new clade “Lineage 3” which included representatives of Mermis sp., Isomermis sp., Limnomermis sp., and Pheromermis sp. This is the first report of natural mermithid parasitism of A. axis and Chrysodeixis spp. along with its molecular characterization.


Keywords


Amyna Axis, Chrysodeixis, Hexamermis, Mermithid, Soybean, Spodoptera

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18311/jbc%2F2019%2F22801