New Nematode Species Could Be a Benefit To Growers
UC Riverside scientists have discovered a tiny worm (nematode) species that infects and kills insects. These nematodes could control crop pests in warm, humid places where other beneficial nematodes are currently unable to thrive. This new species is a member of a family of nematodes called Steinernema that have long been used in agriculture to control insect parasites without pesticides. Steinernema are not harmful to humans or other mammals and were first discovered in the 1920s.
“We spray trillions of them on crops every year, and they’re easy to buy,” says UCR nematology Professor Adler Dillman, whose lab made the discovery. “Though there are more than 100 species of Steinernema, we’re always on the lookout for new ones because each has unique features. Some might be better in certain climates or with certain insects.”
Dillman and his colleagues have now described the new species in the Journal of Parasitology. They are nearly invisible to the naked eye, about half the width of a human hair and just under 1 millimeter long. “Several thousand in a flask looks like dusty water,” Dillman says.
They’ve named the new species Steinernema adamsi after the American biologist Byron Adams, Biology Department chair at Brigham Young University.
“Adams has helped refine our understanding of nematode species and their important role in ecology and recycling nutrients in the soil,” Dillman says. “He was also my undergraduate advisor and the person who introduced me to nematodes. This seemed a fitting tribute to him.”
Researchers are certain that S. adamsi kills insects. They confirmed this by putting some of them in containers with wax moths. “It killed the moths in two days with a very low dose of the worms,” Dillman says.
Going forward, the researchers hope to discover the nematode’s unique properties. “We don’t know yet if it can resist heat, UV light, or dryness. And we don’t yet know the breadth of insects it is capable of infecting.”
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