[The carnivorous fungi hyphomycetes are natural regulators of the size of animal parasitic nematodes].

The carnivorous fungi hyphomycetes are natural enemies of soil nematodes. Laboratory tests examining the effect of the effective strain Duddingtonia flagrans T-89 on equine strongyle larvae have indicated that their size can be reduced 5-48-fold under the action of the fungus. Using helminth-infected mice as an example has ascertained that when the animals are fed a biopreparation, the chlamydial spores of the carnivorous fungus D. flagrans remain viable and continue their development in the excrements. The dead nematodes show cell structural impairments in all tissues and organs, which may be associated with the action of the substances contained in the cell envelope of the fungus.