Susceptibility of neotropical mosquito larvae (Diptera: Culicidae) and non-target aquatic organisms to the entomoparasitic nematode Strelkovimermis spiculatus Poinar & Camino, 1986 (Nematoda: Mermithidae)

Abstract

Fourteen species of mosquito and several species of non-target aquatic organisms were tested for susceptibility to the neotropical mermithid nematode, Strelkovimermis spiculatus. All species of Aedes, Anopheles, Culex, Isostomyia and Ochlerotatus, plus one of the two Psorophora species exposed to S. spiculatus preparasites, were parasitised. None of the non-target aquatic organisms exposed to S. spiculatus were infected, with the exception of Chironomidae larvae in which nematode penetration was observed although host reaction in the form of nematode melanisation occurred 24-48 h post-infection, the nematodes dying within the host.

Nucleotide sequence differentiation of argentine isolates of the mosquito parasitic nematode Strelkovimermis spiculatus (Nematoda: Mermithidae)

“…Adults mate and lay eggs in an aquatic environment where the cycle is completed (Platzer ). Previous studies of Strelkovimermis spiculatus include reports of their mass rearing (Camino and Reboredo ), the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on their infectivity (Micieli et al and mosquito host range (Achinelly et al However, little is known about the population dynamics of this nematode that could be easily addressed if robust molecular markers were available to identify populations and characterize genetic variation within and among populations.…”

Evaluation of the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) as alternative hosts for laboratory mass-rearing of Strelkovimermis spiculatus (Nematoda: Mermithidae)

“…Strelkovimermis spiculatus has a life cycle similar to other aquatic mermithids and develops in ca 35 days depending on temperature and mosquito species (Camino & Reboredo, 1996). Previous studies have shown that this nematode is a promising biocontrol agent of mosquitoes (Camino & García, 1991;Maciá et al, 1995;Camino & Reboredo, 2000;Achinelly & García, 2003) and that a range of neotropical mosquito larvae are susceptible to the nematode (Achinelly et al, 2004).…”

Host range of the parasite Strelkovimermis spiculatus(Nematoda: Mermithidae) in Argentina mosquitoes

“…Strelkovimermis peterseni was found parasitizing larvae of the genus Anopheles in the Nearctic region, but infections were not recorded after exposure of immature larval stages of the genera Aedes, Culex , or Psorophora to that nematode species under natural or experimental conditions (Petersen and Chapman 1970). Strelkovimermis spiculatus was able to parasitize larvae of several species of Neotropical culicids under natural and laboratory conditions (Achinelly et al 2004, Becnel and Johnson 1998, Maciá et al 1995, Achinelly and Micieli 2009). Although a broad range of mosquito species had been recorded as susceptible to infection by this mermithid under laboratory conditions, in the present study prevalence of this mermithid was found to be variable in the field.…”

“…Thirteen mosquito species were susceptible to S. spiculatus infection with an overall mean of 79.6% ranging from 12.5% to 100% under laboratory conditions (Achinelly et al 2004). In that study, Ae.…”

“…Studies of this mermithid report a wide range of susceptible mosquito species under laboratory conditions (Becnel and Johnson 1998, Achinelly et al 2004, Rodriguez Rodriguez et al 2005). However, little is known about the parasitism in mosquito populations (García et al 1994, Maciá et al 1995, Micieli and García 1999, Campos and Sy 2003).…”