About
131
Publications
31,846
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
2,163
Citations
Introduction
Current institution
Publications
Publications (131)
A new species of Phasmarhabditis and the known species P. papillosa were isolated from cadavers of invasive slugs in California. Phasmarhabditis papillosa is the type of the genus and has not previously been reported from the Americas. Both species are characterised based on morphology, morphometrics and molecular data. Molecular phylogenies were i...
Phylogenetic reconstructions of relations within the phylum Nematoda are inherently difficult but have been advanced with the introduction of large-scale molecular-based techniques. However, the most recent revisions were heavily biased towards terrestrial and parasitic species and greater representation of clades containing marine species (e.g. Ar...
Molecular surveys of meiofaunal diversity face some interesting methodological challenges when it comes to interstitial nematodes from soils and sediments. Morphology-based surveys are greatly limited in processing speed, while barcoding approaches for nematodes are hampered by difficulties of matching sequence data with traditional taxonomy. Inter...
Phylogenies were inferred from nearly complete small subunit (SSU) 18S rDNA sequences of 12 species of Meloidogyne and 4 outgroup taxa (Globodera pallida, Nacobbus abberans, Subanguina radicicola, and Zygotylenchus guevarai). Alignments were generated manually from a secondary structure model, and computationally using ClustalX and Treealign. Trees...
A solution containing dimethyl sulphoxide, disodium EDTA, and saturated NaCl (abbreviated here as DESS) was tested for various applications in the preservation of nematodes for combined morphological and molecular analyses. The solution can be used to preserve individual nematodes, nematode extracts, or entire soil/sediment samples. Preserved mater...
Root-knot nematodes were discovered in severely declining creeping bentgrass putting greens at a golf course in Indian Wells, Riverside County, California. The exhibited disease symptoms included chlorosis, stunted growth, and dieback. Based on morphological examination and measurements of J2 females and males, it was suggested that the causal path...
The cosmopolitan terrestrial slug, Deroceras laeve (O. F. Müller, 1774), is reported in the Philippines for the first time and characterized through morphology, morphometrics, and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene analysis. Slug samples were recovered from two administrative regions in Mindanao, Philippines. In Region X, there were two sites:...
Recently, much attention has been focused on a group of rhabditid nematodes called Phasmarhabditis, a junior synonym of Pellioditis, as a promising source of biocontrol agents for invasive slugs. Pellioditis pelhamensis n. sp. was first isolated from earthworms near Pelham Bay Park in Bronx, New York, USA, in 1990 and has been found to be pathogeni...
Recently, much attention has been focused on a group of rhabditid nematodes called Phasmarhabditis , a junior synonym of Pellioditis , as a promising source of biocontrol agents for invasive slugs. Pellioditis pelhami n. sp. was first isolated from earthworms near Pelham Bay Park in Bronx, New York, USA, in 1990 and has been found to be pathogenic...
Gastropod-associated nematodes have been previously studied and documented worldwide, with some species forming host-specific association as obligate parasites of molluscs while others form intermediate and temporary association. Philippinella moellendorffi from Imelda, Zamboanga Sibugay, Philippines, were collected, washed and maintained in the la...
Theba pisana is an invasive snail pest which has established itself in San Diego County and some areas of Los Angeles County, California. The snail has grown to large populations in some areas and mitigation is becoming necessary to stop the spread of the species. In a previous study, three US strains of Phasmarhabditis species (P. californica, P....
Nematodes in the genus Phasmarhabditis can infect and kill slugs and snails, which are important agricultural pests. This useful trait has been commercialized by the corporation BASF after they mass produced a product labeled Nemaslug®. The product contains Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita, which has been cultured with Moraxella osloensis, a bacterial...
Succinea snails are considered to be invasive and pestiferous gastropods to those in the floricultural industry. Their small size makes them difficult to locate within large plant shipments, and their presence on decorative plants can constitute for an entire shipment to be rejected for sale and distribution. Research performed on Succinea snails i...
Three species of Phasmarhabditis were recovered from 75 nurseries and garden centers in 28 counties in California during fall and winter 2012–2021. A total of 18 mollusk species were recovered, most of them invasive. Nematodes were identified by sequencing the D2-D3 expansion segments of the large subunit (LSU or 28S) rRNA. Based on these surveys,...
Multiple tarantula deaths for a wholesale breeder were reported in 2018. The breeder noticed white discharge in the oral cavities of the tarantulas. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the white discharge was a large group of nematodes intertwined inside the tarantula's oral cavity. We examined the nematodes and propose a new species, Tarantobe...
The grey field slug, Deroceras reticulatum, is an agricultural pest causing damage to a wide variety of crops each year. The nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita has been shown to effectively kill this slug in field-simulated conditions, leading to its widespread use as a biological control agent in Europe. However, recently discovered isolates o...
Biological control (biocontrol) as a component of pest management strategies reduces reliance on synthetic chemicals, and seemingly offers a natural approach that minimizes environmental impact. However, introducing a new organism to new environments as a classical biocontrol agent can have broad and unanticipated biodiversity effects and conservat...
Theba pisana is a serious snail pest in many parts of the world and affects diverse crops including grain, vegetables, grapevines, and ornamental plants and shrubs. Due to its gregarious nature, ability to reproduce rapidly, and the difficulty of controlling it by conventional methods, it has the potential to become a significant pest where introdu...
Nematodes form various associations with terrestrial gastropods including obligatory parasitic, paratenic, phoretic or necromenic mode. There are over 80 gastropod parasitic nematode species from twelve families (Agfidae, Alaninematidae, Alloionematidae, Angiostomatidae, Araeolaimidae, Ascarididae, Cephalobidae, Cosmocercidae, Diplogasteridae, Merm...
Further data on the morphology (the lip region characters) and phylogeny of the genus Sakia are presented. The new observations were based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM). A new species, Sakia sisanganensis n. sp., was recovered from rotten wood of a dead beech tree (Fagus orientalis) in northern Iran, herein describ...
The nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita is a lethal parasite of many pest slug and snail species. It is used as a commercial biological control agent (Nemaslug®) in Europe but a number of key gastropod pests (e.g. Lissachatina fulica) are thought to be unsusceptible. Our data, however, demonstrated that a recently discovered U.S. strain of P. he...
The genus Alloionema (Rhabditida: Alloionematidae) currently includes three nominal species-the type species, Al-loionema appendiculatum, and two recently described species: A. similis and A. californicum. Comparison of morpholog-ical, molecular and ecological characters demonstrates that A. similis and A. californicum belong to the same species, p...
Ptilodactyla crenatostriata Redtenbacher, 1868 (Coleoptera: Byrrhoidea: Ptilodactylidae) described from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is transferred to the genus Phytocerum Costa, Vanin, Lawrence & Ide, 2003 (Coleoptera: Elateroidea: Cerophytidae). Based on the examination of the holotype, deposited in the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Austria, Phytocer...
This proceedings contains papers dealing with issues affecting biological control, particularly pertaining to the use of parasitoids and predators as biological control agents. This includes all approaches to biological control: conservation, augmentation, and importation of natural enemy species for the control of arthropod targets, as well as oth...
This book contains chapters that capture the full breadth of the basic and applied information on entomopathogenic (EPNs) and slug parasitic nematodes (SPNs) that are used or have potential in the management of insect pests, molluscs and/or other researched targets such as plant parasitic nematodes. The information includes the remarkable developme...
The impact of selected entomopathogenic nematodes and Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita on the EuropeanUnion-protected slug Geomalacus maculosus and the sympatric Lehmannia marginata was investigated. There was no significant difference in mortality between slugs treated with nematodes and their controls. The presence of P. hermaphrodita in two G. macu...
A new species of Alloionema Schneider, 1859, A. similis n. sp., and the known species A. appendiculatum Schneider, 1859 were isolated from cadavers of invasive slugs in California. Both species are described based on morphology, morphometrics and molecular data. Alloionema similis n. sp. is morphologically very similar to A. appendiculatum but can...
Invasive snails and slugs are among the most important pests of agriculture, horticulture and other high-value crops. They cause direct losses in crop yield and quality (fecal and mucus contamination) and increase management costs. They are vectors of plant and human pathogens e.g. Alternaria brassicicola, pathogen of brassica dark leaf spot and An...
The nematode diversity in soil and litter was investigated on Mount Hamiguitan, the Philippines, along four eco-habitats from elevations of 75-1600 m a.s.l. A total of 155 and 467 nematodes were identified to 39 and 62 genera from litter and soil, respectively. The nematode assemblages and diversity did not show any relation to eco-habitat or eleva...
The prevalence of plant-parasitic nematodes in lowland and upland rice ecosystems was compared based on soil and root samples from 30 rice fields in five provinces (Bataan, Batangas, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Pangasinan) of Luzon, Philippines. Five nematode genera (Meloidogyne, Hirschmanniella, Pratylenchus, Tylenchorhynchus, and Helicotylenchus) from...
Boettgerilla pallens Simroth, 1912 is reported for the first time in the United States. Identification was based on combined morphological and molecular data (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I and 16S rDNA sequences) of a specimen collected in the retail garden center in northern California. We provide some background information on the biology...
Soil amendment may enhance soil quality as well as reduce plant-parasitic nematode. Despite the many applications already undertaken using castor meal, its efficiency in controlling root-knot nematodes (RKN, Meloidogyne incognita) when applied to melon (Cucumis melo) is still not clear. Three different amounts of castor meal (Ricinus communis) appl...
Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita is reported for the first time in North America from cadavers of the invasive slug species Deroceras reticulatum, D. laeve and Lehmannia valentiana collected from three different locations in California, USA. Four isolates were identified using combined morphology, morphometrics and molecular sequence data for complete...
Descriptions of three known species of Cynura, i.e., C. cerambus, C. klunderi and C. papillata, are given, including SEM micrographs of C. cerambus and a tabular compendium for all species of the genus. The phylogenetic relationships of C. klunderi are inferred from molecular data. Bayesian analyses of small subunit (SSU) of rRNA sequences support...
113 Summary.-Two new species of diplogastrid nematodes are described and illustrated based upon morphological, morphometric, SEM and molecular characters. Mononchoides iranicus sp. n. is characterized by its body length, number of longitudinal ridges (42 in female and 34 in male), shape and size of the stoma, anteriorly located vulva, shape of gube...
Descriptions of eight new and three known species of Tarvaia are given. Tarvaia pacifica sp. n. has cephalic capsule reaching posterior part of short amphids, amphidial shield without ornamentation, straight vagina with pars refringens vaginae, slightly asymmetrical spicules, gubernaculum with two dorsal apophyses, precloacal ridge present; T algic...
Longidorus mindanaoensis n. sp. is described from samples associated with riverine mangroves in the Philippines and is the first Longidorus species collected from such a habitat. Its relationship within the genus is inferred from molecular and morphological data. Phylogenetic inferences were performed for D2-D3 and SSU rDNA using appropriate phylog...
Nematode diversity may seriously be underestimated when taking into account cryptic speciation. Thoracostoma trachygaster is commonly found in kelp holdfasts along the California coastline and was recently shown to consist of at least two distinct molecular clades (I and II). Here, we provide detailed morphological analysis of both clades, based on...
A population of Placodira lobata from the USA is described using both light and scanning electron microscopy and compared with the descriptions of the type specimens of the same species. The phylogenetic relationships of the species are inferred from molecular data and places P. lobata in a clade that unites genera with mostly simple morphology of...
Celery is an intensive horticultural crop. In Argentina, it is grown in several localities of the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Mendoza and San Juan. A population of Hemicycliophora poranga has been recently detected infesting celery roots, which showed particular swellings and proliferation of lateral rootlets. Tissues were analysed to desc...
Recent taxonomic and population genetic studies have revealed the presence of substantial cryptic diversity through sequence analysis of nematode morphospecies classified in different major clades. Correct interpretations of intra- and interspecific genetic variation require certainty about the conspecificity of the sequenced specimens, which in tu...
Hemiplectus muscorum, the type and single representative of its genus, is redescribed on the basis of abundant new material collected in the UK, Canada and the USA using both light and scanning electron microscopy. The phylogenetic relationships of the species are inferred from morphological as well as molecular data. Maximum parsimony, neighbour j...
Three new species, Diplopeltoides axayacatli sp. n., D. santaclarae sp. n. and D. paramastigia sp. n., are described using light microscopy. All three species are morphometrically close to D. mastigia but the former differs in having a hook-shaped amphid, while the latter two can be distinguished from D. mastigia by having a gubernaculum with apoph...
An unusual new ceramonematid, Ceramonema nasobema sp. n., is described using light and scanning electron microscopy. It is particularly characterised by the presence of a perioral tube projecting 5.5-7.0 ¿m anterior to the lips, moderately long body (0.86-1.09 mm), relatively small number of body annules (121-134), weakly developed zygapophyses, ab...
The morphology and morphometry of nematodes of six species of the family Ceramonematidae is described using light and scanning electron microscopy. In this paper, we describe two new species and redescribe two known species of Ceramonema and one new species each of Pselionema and Pterygonema. Ceramonema altogolfi sp. n. is characterised by the 0.8-...
The Gulf of California, Mexico, consists of unique environmental conditions resulting in a rich array of biological diversity.
Nematodes are present in most marine sediments and are probably the most abundant metazoans. This research analyses and compares
nematode biodiversity in two shallow, littoral locations of the Gulf and compares the results...
Hirschmanniella santarosae sp. n. is described from the largest vernal pool in the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, Murrieta, California, USA. The cryptic new species is morphologically very close to H. pomponiensis and H. gracilis as it can be distinguished from the former only by a more anterior excretory pore position and by more flattened...
Hirschmanniella santarosae sp. n. is described from the largest vernal pool in the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, Murrieta, California, USA. The cryptic new species is morphologically very close to H. pomponiensis and H. gracilis as it can be distinguished from the former only by a more anterior excretory pore position and by more flattened...
Nematodes of the suborder Cephalobina include an ecologically and morphologically diverse array of species that range from soil-dwelling microbivores to parasites of vertebrates and invertebrates. Despite a long history of study, certain of these microbivores (Cephaloboidea) present some of the most intractable problems in nematode systematics; the...
A solution containing dimethyl sulphoxide, disodium EDTA, and saturated NaCl (abbreviated here as DESS) was tested for various applications in the preservation of nematodes for combined morphological and molecular analyses. The solution can be used to preserve individual nematodes, nematode extracts, or entire soil/sediment samples. Preserved mater...
Molecular surveys of meiofaunal diversity face some interesting methodological challenges when it
comes to interstitial nematodes from soils and sediments. Morphology-based surveys are greatly
limited in processing speed, while barcoding approaches for nematodes are hampered by difficulties
of matching sequence data with traditional taxonomy. Inter...
