Efficacy of Kamona strain Deladenus siricidicola nematodes for biological control of Sirex noctilio in North America and hybridisation with invasive conspecifics

Sirex noctilio is an invasive woodwasp that, along with its symbiotic fungus, has killed pine trees (Pinus spp.) in North America and in numerous countries in the Southern Hemisphere. We tested a biological control agent in North America that has successfully controlled S. noctilio in Oceania, South...

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Main Authors: Tonya D. Bittner, Nathan Havill, Isis A.L. Caetano, Ann E. Hajek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pensoft Publishers 2019-04-01
Series:NeoBiota
Online Access:https://neobiota.pensoft.net/article/30402/download/pdf/
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author Tonya D. Bittner
Nathan Havill
Isis A.L. Caetano
Ann E. Hajek
author_facet Tonya D. Bittner
Nathan Havill
Isis A.L. Caetano
Ann E. Hajek
author_sort Tonya D. Bittner
collection DOAJ
description Sirex noctilio is an invasive woodwasp that, along with its symbiotic fungus, has killed pine trees (Pinus spp.) in North America and in numerous countries in the Southern Hemisphere. We tested a biological control agent in North America that has successfully controlled S. noctilio in Oceania, South Africa, and South America. Deladenus siricidicola nematodes feed on the symbiotic white rot fungus Amylostereum areolatum and can switch to being parasitic on S. noctilio. When parasitic, the Kamona nematode strain can sterilise the eggs of S. noctilio females. However, in North America, a different strain of D. siricidicola (NA), presumably introduced along with the woodwasp, parasitises but does not sterilise S. noctilio. We tested the sterilising Kamona biological control strain of D. siricidicola against S. noctilio in North America. Interactions between the biological control strain and the NA strain could include competitive exclusion, co-infection within hosts or hybridisation. We reared D. siricidicola Kamona on an A. areolatum strain native to North America (IGS-BE) and another strain (IGS-BDF) used commercially to mass-produce the nematode in Australia. We inoculated Kamona reared on either strain of A. areolatum into logs infested with S. noctilio larvae and compared parasitism rates against control logs. Individual nematodes were isolated from S. noctilio hemocoels and from sterilised eggs and were genotyped with eight microsatellite loci. A high rate of parasitisation of S. noctilio by D. siricidicola NA was found for all treatments and we found evidence of both co-infection and hybridisation. Surprisingly, sterilisation rates were not related to the rates of parasitisation by D. siricidicola Kamona.
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spelling doaj.art-5574b43e761948b89ee2ebdc32f5f0392022-12-21T20:40:47ZengPensoft PublishersNeoBiota1619-00331314-24882019-04-0144395510.3897/neobiota.44.3040230402Efficacy of Kamona strain Deladenus siricidicola nematodes for biological control of Sirex noctilio in North America and hybridisation with invasive conspecificsTonya D. Bittner0Nathan Havill1Isis A.L. Caetano2Ann E. Hajek3Cornell UniversityUSDA Forest ServiceCornell UniversityCornell UniversitySirex noctilio is an invasive woodwasp that, along with its symbiotic fungus, has killed pine trees (Pinus spp.) in North America and in numerous countries in the Southern Hemisphere. We tested a biological control agent in North America that has successfully controlled S. noctilio in Oceania, South Africa, and South America. Deladenus siricidicola nematodes feed on the symbiotic white rot fungus Amylostereum areolatum and can switch to being parasitic on S. noctilio. When parasitic, the Kamona nematode strain can sterilise the eggs of S. noctilio females. However, in North America, a different strain of D. siricidicola (NA), presumably introduced along with the woodwasp, parasitises but does not sterilise S. noctilio. We tested the sterilising Kamona biological control strain of D. siricidicola against S. noctilio in North America. Interactions between the biological control strain and the NA strain could include competitive exclusion, co-infection within hosts or hybridisation. We reared D. siricidicola Kamona on an A. areolatum strain native to North America (IGS-BE) and another strain (IGS-BDF) used commercially to mass-produce the nematode in Australia. We inoculated Kamona reared on either strain of A. areolatum into logs infested with S. noctilio larvae and compared parasitism rates against control logs. Individual nematodes were isolated from S. noctilio hemocoels and from sterilised eggs and were genotyped with eight microsatellite loci. A high rate of parasitisation of S. noctilio by D. siricidicola NA was found for all treatments and we found evidence of both co-infection and hybridisation. Surprisingly, sterilisation rates were not related to the rates of parasitisation by D. siricidicola Kamona.https://neobiota.pensoft.net/article/30402/download/pdf/
spellingShingle Tonya D. Bittner
Nathan Havill
Isis A.L. Caetano
Ann E. Hajek
Efficacy of Kamona strain Deladenus siricidicola nematodes for biological control of Sirex noctilio in North America and hybridisation with invasive conspecifics
NeoBiota
title Efficacy of Kamona strain Deladenus siricidicola nematodes for biological control of Sirex noctilio in North America and hybridisation with invasive conspecifics
title_full Efficacy of Kamona strain Deladenus siricidicola nematodes for biological control of Sirex noctilio in North America and hybridisation with invasive conspecifics
title_fullStr Efficacy of Kamona strain Deladenus siricidicola nematodes for biological control of Sirex noctilio in North America and hybridisation with invasive conspecifics
title_full_unstemmed Efficacy of Kamona strain Deladenus siricidicola nematodes for biological control of Sirex noctilio in North America and hybridisation with invasive conspecifics
title_short Efficacy of Kamona strain Deladenus siricidicola nematodes for biological control of Sirex noctilio in North America and hybridisation with invasive conspecifics
title_sort efficacy of kamona strain deladenus siricidicola nematodes for biological control of sirex noctilio in north america and hybridisation with invasive conspecifics
url https://neobiota.pensoft.net/article/30402/download/pdf/
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