Department of Zoology and Entomology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
J Helminthol. 2023 Jul 10;97:e54. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X23000378.
White grubs are root feeding larvae of beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) that are sporadic pests in agriculture and can lead to economic damage. The grubs feed on the roots of plants, while the adult beetle can bore into underground stems, as well as cause defoliation of plants. Sporadic incidence of larvae with symptoms of nematode infections were detected in wattle and sugarcane plantations in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The larvae with infection symptoms were isolated, washed, and put on water traps to collect infective juveniles of possible nematode infections. Three species of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) were isolated from the white grub larvae. These included isolated from sp. 4., from sp. 4 and and isolated from sp. 4., and Of these was the most common species in the sample (87%). This is the first report of such a high diversity of locally occurring EPNs found naturally associated with white grub species in this region of South Africa.
白土栖金针虫是甲虫（鞘翅目：金龟子科）的根食幼虫，在农业中是零星害虫，会造成经济损失。幼虫以植物的根为食，而成年甲虫则会钻入地下茎，并导致植物落叶。在南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省的金合欢和甘蔗种植园中，偶尔会发现有感染线虫症状的幼虫。带有感染症状的幼虫被分离出来，清洗后放入水阱中，以收集可能感染线虫的传染性幼虫。从白土栖金针虫幼虫中分离出三种昆虫病原线虫（EPNs）。其中， 从 sp. 4 中分离到 ， 从 sp. 4 和 中分离到 ， 从 sp. 4 中分离到 。在样本中， 最为常见（87%）。这是首次在南非该地区的白土栖金针虫种自然相关联的样本中发现如此高多样性的本地发生的 EPNs 的报告。
