Lillis, Peter E. and Kennedy, Ian P. and Carolan, James C. and Griffin, Christine T. (2023) Low-temperature exposure has immediate and lasting effects on the stress tolerance, chemotaxis and proteome of entomopathogenic nematodes. Parasitology, 150 (1). pp. 15-28. ISSN 0031-1820

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Abstract

Temperature is one of the most important factors affecting soil organisms, including the infective stages of parasites and entomopathogenic nematodes, which are important biological control agents. We investigated the response of 2 species of entomopathogenic nematodes to different storage regimes: cold (9°C), culture temperature (20°C) and temperature swapped from 9 to 20°C. For Steinernema carpocapsae, cold storage had profound effects on chemotaxis, stress tolerance and protein expression that were retained in temperature-swapped individuals. These effects included reversal of chemotactic response for 3 (prenol, methyl salicylate and hexanol) of the 4 chemicals tested, and enhanced tolerance to freezing (−10°C) and desiccation (75% RH). Label-free quantitative proteomics showed that cold storage induced widespread changes in S. carpocapsae, including an increase in heat-shock proteins and late embryogenesis abundant proteins. For Heterorhabditis megidis, cold storage had a less dramatic effect on chemotaxis (as previously shown for proteomic expression) and changes were not maintained on return to 20°C. Thus, cold temperature exposure has significant effects on entomopathogenic nematodes, but the nature of the change depends on the species. Steinernema carpocapsae, in particular, displays significant plasticity, and its behaviour and stress tolerance may be manipulated by brief exposure to low temperatures, with implications for its use as a biological control agent.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Behaviour; biocontrol; dauer; Heterorhabditis megidis; infective juvenile; infective larva; Steinernema carpocapsae; storage; survival;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > Biology Faculty of Science and Engineering > Research Institutes > Human Health Institute
Item ID:	17111
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182022001445
Depositing User:	James Carolan
Date Deposited:	24 Apr 2023 11:05
Journal or Publication Title:	Parasitology
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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