Distribution and diversity of entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae) in a South African nature reserve

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are microscopic roundworms that are found in soil worldwide. They deliver an important ecosystem service through preventing natural flares in insect reproduction by means of utilising the soil stages of insects as a food source and by acting as natural biocontrol ag...

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Autores principales:	Isiah Nthenga, Rinus Knoetze, Antoinette P. Malan
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	AOSIS 2021
Materias:	distribution fynbos js marais nature reserve natural habitat natural veld General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution QH1-199.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/a5dbf53bae024519a3235ae925b6d0ea
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:a5dbf53bae024519a3235ae925b6d0ea2021-11-24T07:41:33ZDistribution and diversity of entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae) in a South African nature reserve0075-64582071-077110.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1661https://doaj.org/article/a5dbf53bae024519a3235ae925b6d0ea2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://koedoe.co.za/index.php/koedoe/article/view/1661https://doaj.org/toc/0075-6458https://doaj.org/toc/2071-0771Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are microscopic roundworms that are found in soil worldwide. They deliver an important ecosystem service through preventing natural flares in insect reproduction by means of utilising the soil stages of insects as a food source and by acting as natural biocontrol agents. A survey of EPNs was conducted in the JS Marais Nature Reserve, Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Soil samples were baited with the larvae of three susceptible hosts, codling moth (Cydia pomonella), wax moth (Galleria mellonella) and mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) to determine the presence of EPN. Of the 76 soil samples collected across the reserve, 39 were found to be positive for the presence of EPN (51.32%). Among the positive samples, 87% contained Steinernema isolates, 8% contained Heterorhabditis and 5% contained the Oscheius sp. Morphological and molecular studies were performed to characterise the isolates to species level. The Steinernema species were identified as Steinernema khoisanae in 34 samples, and as Steinernema nguyeni in five samples. The only species of Heterorhabditis found was H. safricana, which was identified from three samples. An unknown Oscheius sp. was found in two samples. The reserve’s population of S. khoisanae showed interesting inter-individual variation (93%) early in the internal transcribe spacer (ITS) region, leading to short single-usable sequences, which, in most cases, included only the ITS1 or ITS2 region. However, using the D2D3 confirmed their identity as S. khoisanae, with such occurring in all areas and soil types of the reserve. Conservation implications: The undisturbed alluvial fynbos and renosterveld of the JS Marais Nature Reserve showed high EPN abundance and diversity in stark contrast to the agro-ecosystems present in the Cape floristic region. This finding, on a micro level, should be conserved for future bioprospecting in the fynbos for EPNs with potential as biocontrol agents.Isiah NthengaRinus KnoetzeAntoinette P. MalanAOSISarticledistributionfynbosjs marais nature reservenatural habitatnatural veldGeneral. Including nature conservation, geographical distributionQH1-199.5ENKoedoe: African Protected Area Conservation and Science, Vol 63, Iss 1, Pp e1-e7 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	distribution fynbos js marais nature reserve natural habitat natural veld General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution QH1-199.5
spellingShingle	distribution fynbos js marais nature reserve natural habitat natural veld General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Isiah Nthenga Rinus Knoetze Antoinette P. Malan Distribution and diversity of entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae) in a South African nature reserve
description	Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are microscopic roundworms that are found in soil worldwide. They deliver an important ecosystem service through preventing natural flares in insect reproduction by means of utilising the soil stages of insects as a food source and by acting as natural biocontrol agents. A survey of EPNs was conducted in the JS Marais Nature Reserve, Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Soil samples were baited with the larvae of three susceptible hosts, codling moth (Cydia pomonella), wax moth (Galleria mellonella) and mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) to determine the presence of EPN. Of the 76 soil samples collected across the reserve, 39 were found to be positive for the presence of EPN (51.32%). Among the positive samples, 87% contained Steinernema isolates, 8% contained Heterorhabditis and 5% contained the Oscheius sp. Morphological and molecular studies were performed to characterise the isolates to species level. The Steinernema species were identified as Steinernema khoisanae in 34 samples, and as Steinernema nguyeni in five samples. The only species of Heterorhabditis found was H. safricana, which was identified from three samples. An unknown Oscheius sp. was found in two samples. The reserve’s population of S. khoisanae showed interesting inter-individual variation (93%) early in the internal transcribe spacer (ITS) region, leading to short single-usable sequences, which, in most cases, included only the ITS1 or ITS2 region. However, using the D2D3 confirmed their identity as S. khoisanae, with such occurring in all areas and soil types of the reserve. Conservation implications: The undisturbed alluvial fynbos and renosterveld of the JS Marais Nature Reserve showed high EPN abundance and diversity in stark contrast to the agro-ecosystems present in the Cape floristic region. This finding, on a micro level, should be conserved for future bioprospecting in the fynbos for EPNs with potential as biocontrol agents.
format	article
author	Isiah Nthenga Rinus Knoetze Antoinette P. Malan
author_facet	Isiah Nthenga Rinus Knoetze Antoinette P. Malan
author_sort	Isiah Nthenga
title	Distribution and diversity of entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae) in a South African nature reserve
title_short	Distribution and diversity of entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae) in a South African nature reserve
title_full	Distribution and diversity of entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae) in a South African nature reserve
title_fullStr	Distribution and diversity of entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae) in a South African nature reserve
title_full_unstemmed	Distribution and diversity of entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae) in a South African nature reserve
title_sort	distribution and diversity of entomopathogenic nematodes (steinernematidae and heterorhabditidae) in a south african nature reserve
publisher	AOSIS
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/a5dbf53bae024519a3235ae925b6d0ea
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Distribution and diversity of entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae) in a South African nature reserve

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