Pasteuria penetrans is a bacterial parasite of some plant parasite of nematodes whichcan attach to the cuticle of nematode. Differences in attachment of P. penetrans spores to the second stag juvenile (J2) cuticle may provide evidence for nematode cuticle diversity even between different ages of J2s. For investigating this purpose, we studied the effect of different ages of th...

Cuticle collagens form a major part of the nematode cuticle and are responsible for maintaining the overall shape of the animal and its protection from the external environment. Although substantial research on cuticle collagen genes has been carried out in Caenorhabditis elegans, their isolation and characterization in plant parasitic nematodes have been limited to a few genes only. In this st...

Calorie values for a wide biological selection of nematodes, determined with a microbomb calorimeter, ranged from 3.86 to 6.85 Kcal/g. The mean of 5.095 Kcal from 16 species was lower than means recorded in three previous studies of other invertebrate groups. The nematode values were skewed to the lowest limit. Larvae of Ditylenchus dipsaci showed lower calorie values after storage, and the cal...

Five species of nematodes - Hemicriconemoides pseudobrachyurum, Hemicycliophora conida, Macroposthonia ornata, Aphelenchoides ritzemabosi, and Psilenchus hilarulus -were desiccated to study their capacity to survive anhydrobiotically. Results indicate that the ability of the sheath to shrink quickly and its relatively loose attachment with the nematode body allow H. conida to survive longer tha...

The occurrence and distribution of several lectin binding sites on the outer surfaces of eggs, preparasitic second-stage juveniles (J2), parasitic second-stage juveniles (PJ2), females, and males of two tylenchid nematodes, Anguina tritici and Meloidogyne incognita race 3, were compared. In both species, a greater variety of lectins bound to the eggs than to other life stages; lectin binding to...

AIMS The aim of this study was to investigate the role of proteases in Bacillus spp. of rhizobacteria in suppressing nematode populations and to understand their mechanism of action. METHODS AND RESULTS Rhizobacteria with nematicidal activity were isolated from soil samples of five root knot nematode-infested farms. Among these strains, nematotoxicities of Bacillus strains were intensively an...

Root-knot nematodes have emerged as devastating parasites causing substantial losses to agricultural economy worldwide. Tomato is the most favored host for major species of root-knot nematodes. Control strategies like use of nematicides have proved to be harmful to the environment. Other control methods like development of resistant cultivars and crop rotation have serious limitations. This stu...

Pasteuria penetrans is a bacterial parasite of some plant parasite of nematodes whichcan attach to the cuticle of nematode. Differences in attachment of P. penetrans spores to the second stag juvenile (J2) cuticle may provide evidence for nematode cuticle diversity even between different ages of J2s. For investigating this purpose, we studied the effect of different ages of th...

A simple method for atomic force microscopy (AFM) of nematode cuticle was developed to visualize the external topography of Helicotylenchus lobus, Meloidogyne javanica, M. incognita, and Xiphinema diversicaudatum. Endospores of two isolates of the nematode parasite, Pasteuria penetrans, adhering to M. incognita and X. diversicaudatum were also visualized and measured by this technique. Scanning...

The exoskeleton or cuticle performs many key roles in the development and survival of all nematodes. This structure is predominantly collagenous in nature and requires numerous enzymes to properly fold, modify, process and cross-link these essential structural proteins. The cuticle structure and its collagen components are conserved throughout the nematode phylum but differ from the collagenous...