USDA-ARS, Southeastern Fruit and Tree Nut Research Lab, Byron, GA 31008, USA.
Int J Parasitol. 2013 Sep;43(10):781-4. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2013.05.007. Epub 2013 Jun 20.
Entomopathogenic nematode species respond directionally to various cues including electrical stimuli. For example, in prior research Steinernema carpocapsae was shown to be attracted to an electrical current that was applied to an agar dish. Thus, we hypothesised that these nematodes may use electromagnetic reception to assist in navigating through the soil and finding a host. In this study we discovered that S. carpocapsae also responds to electrical fields (without current) and to magnetic fields; to our knowledge this is the first report of nematode directional movement in response to a magnetic field. Our research expands on the range of known stimuli that entomopathogenic nematodes respond to. The findings may have implications for foraging behavior.
昆虫病原线虫物种对各种线索（包括电刺激）做出定向反应。例如，在之前的研究中，展示了斯氏线虫对施加在琼脂盘上的电流具有吸引力。因此，我们假设这些线虫可能使用电磁接收来协助在土壤中导航并找到宿主。在这项研究中，我们发现斯氏线虫也对电场（无电流）和磁场做出反应；据我们所知，这是线虫对磁场做出定向运动的第一个报告。我们的研究扩展了已知的昆虫病原线虫对刺激物的反应范围。这些发现可能对觅食行为具有重要意义。
