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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Urbana, Illinois » Soybean/maize Germplasm, Pathology, and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #99373
Title: PASTEURIA SP.: A PROMISING BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENT OF THE SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE

Author
item ATBALENTJA, NDEME - UNIV OF ILLINOIS
item Noel, Gregory

Submitted to: National Soybean Cyst Nematode Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/7/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Pasteuria spp. are obligate parasites that can only grow and reproduce in their hosts, and that have characteristics of both bacteria and fungi. An undescribed species of Pasteuria that infects the soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines, was reported for the first time when it was found in Illinois in 1993. The objectives of the present studies were i) to investigate the population dynamics of both the SCN and Pasteuria sp., ii) to determine the potential of Pasteuria sp. as a biological control agent of the SCN, iii) to elucidate the life-cycle and ultrastructure of Pasteuria sp., and iv) to determine its phylogenetic position. The first and second objectives were achieved through a 2-year study conducted in naturally infested microplots. The life-cycle of Pasteuria was based on microscopic examinations of SCN adults and cysts extracted from the rhizosphere of soybean plants, and of juvenile stages excised from the roots of the same plants. The ultrastructure was described from transmission electron microscopic observations of Pasteuria-infected cysts. The phylogeny of the Pasteuria from Illinois was derived from the analysis of the 16SrDNA sequence.