Čepulytė Rasa, Osinska Evelina, Apšegaitė Violeta, Tiškevičiūtė Deimantė, Būda Vincas
Nature Research Centre, Laboratory of Chemical and Behavioral Ecology, Vilnius, Lithauania.
PLoS One. 2025 Jul 28;20(7):e0328628. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0328628. eCollection 2025.
Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) provide a natural alternative to synthetic pesticides for pest control. Understanding how EPNs respond to volatile cues including those released by infected cadavers is crucial for determining the behavior control necessary for improving their effectiveness. In this study, we tested the response of Steinernema kraussei, a cruiser foraging species, to 1-nonene. Additionally, we analyzed the emission dynamics of this compound from Galleria mellonella larvae infected by three different EPN species: S. kraussei, S. carpocapsae, and S. feltiae. Concentrations of 1-nonene at 20 mM and above elicited a repellent behavior in S. kraussei. Ethanol, used as a solvent for 1-nonene, was attractive to this EPN at high concentrations only. The emission of 1-nonene was the lowest from larvae infected by S. feltiae compared to those infected by the other two species. Larvae infected with S. kraussei released 15 times more 1-nonene than those infected with S. feltiae, while larvae infected with S. carpocapsae released 76 times more than those infected with S. feltiae and 5 times more than those infected with S. kraussei. Comparing our findings to previous research behavioral responses to environmental compounds (ethanol and 1-nonene) suggest that EPNs with cruiser (S. kraussei) and intermediate (S. feltiae) foraging strategies show similar responses, distinct from those of ambusher's (S. carpocapsae).
昆虫病原线虫（EPNs）为害虫防治提供了一种天然的合成农药替代品。了解EPNs如何对挥发性线索做出反应，包括那些由受感染尸体释放的线索，对于确定提高其有效性所需的行为控制至关重要。在本研究中，我们测试了巡游觅食物种克氏斯氏线虫（Steinernema kraussei）对1-壬烯的反应。此外，我们分析了三种不同EPN物种（克氏斯氏线虫、小卷蛾斯氏线虫和长尾斯氏线虫）感染的大蜡螟幼虫中该化合物的排放动态。20 mM及以上浓度的1-壬烯会引起克氏斯氏线虫的驱避行为。用作1-壬烯溶剂的乙醇仅在高浓度时对这种EPN有吸引力。与感染其他两种物种的幼虫相比，感染长尾斯氏线虫的幼虫释放的1-壬烯最少。感染克氏斯氏线虫的幼虫释放的1-壬烯比感染长尾斯氏线虫的幼虫多15倍，而感染小卷蛾斯氏线虫的幼虫释放的1-壬烯比感染长尾斯氏线虫的幼虫多76倍，比感染克氏斯氏线虫的幼虫多5倍。将我们的研究结果与之前关于对环境化合物（乙醇和1-壬烯）行为反应的研究进行比较表明，具有巡游（克氏斯氏线虫）和中间（长尾斯氏线虫）觅食策略的EPNs表现出相似的反应，这与伏击者（小卷蛾斯氏线虫）不同。
