Differentiation of three species of Neoaplectan (Nematoda: Rhabditida), grown axenically

Abstract

Three species of the genus Neoaplectana, nematodes from insects, when grown axenically, could be differentiated consistently by morphological, cultivational and serological criteria.All three species were cultivated for consecutive generations on solid media such as a rabbit kidney slice at the bottom of an enriched agar slant. In axenic cultures with various liquid media, including some which were chemically defined, the ensheathed larvae of N. glaseri matured and produced offspring which in turn developed and reproduced; N. dutkii (‘DD-136’) larvae matured, but a new generation did not develop; the majority of N. carpocapsae larvae survived but did not mature. Living N. glaseri, used as a source of antigens to detect homologous antibodies, gave fewer cross-reactions than preparations of sonicated and frozen worms, and fewer false negative reactions than used cultivation media.Morphological differences between the three species in cultures are described.This work was done at The Rockefeller Institute in the department of Dr William Trager, with the technical assistance of June I. Schloemer and, subsequently, Kristin L. Schmidtchen. Preliminary morphological descriptions were made in association with M. B. H. Chitwood of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Beltsville Parasitological Laboratory in Maryland. The author and work were supported by grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, 5-K3-AI-9522 and AI-04842.