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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Byron, Georgia » Fruit and Tree Nut Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #422118
Research Project: Novel Approaches for Managing Key Pests of Peach and Pecan

Location: Fruit and Tree Nut Research

Title: The first 100 years in the history of entomopathogenic nematodes

Author
item STOCK, PATRICIA - Oregon State University
item CAMPOS-HERRERA, RAQUEL - University Of La Rioja
item Shapiro Ilan, David

Submitted to: Journal of Invertebrate Pathology
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/12/2025
Publication Date: 3/25/2025
Citation: Stock, P.P., Campos-Herrera, R., Shapiro Ilan, D.I. 2025. The First 100 Years in the History of Entomopathogenic Nematodes . Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2025.108302.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2025.108302

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The field of entomopathogenic nematology has grown exponentially since the discovery of the first species, Steinernema kraussei (= Aplecatna kraussei), in 1923. Initially, entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) were solely viewed as a curiosity. The discovery of the nematode-bacteria association in 1965 and the incipient research for mass production motivated their recognition as biological control agents for agricultural pests. Subsequent studies were focused on the discovery of new species and/or populations, the early studies to understand the biotic and abiotic factors that contribute to their performance in the field and success in insect pest management. However, as we entered the 21st century, and with the advent of molecular biology, research on these organisms took a fascinating turn, unraveling a deeper understanding of the complex symbiotic relationship EPN has with their bacterial symbionts and the insect host. Furthermore, because of their experimental tractability, EPNs have proven to be model organisms that are used among various biological sciences to gain further insights into host-symbiont, host-pathogen interactions, population dynamics, and as resources for pharmaceutical bioprospecting. This special issue commemorates the first 100 years of research in entomopathogenic nematology and summarizes the contributions of ten symposia and presentations at the 100th Anniversary of the First EPN Discovery Congress in Logroño, Spain (https://www.icvv.es/english/epn). This specific article focuses on the historical review of EPN, their bacterial partners and the numerous and divers applications in disciplines in basic such as phylogeny, biogeography, symbiosis, and soil biology and ecology, or more applied venues such as formulation and mass production, application technology, commercialization and regulation, from 1923 to the present time.