Ee. Lewis et al., LOCATION AND BEHAVIORAL-EFFECTS OF LECTIN-BINDING ON ENTOMOPATHOGENICNEMATODES WITH DIFFERENT FORAGING STRATEGIES, Journal of chemical ecology, 22(3), 1996, pp. 455-466
Lectins have been used to locate and ascribe a function to sensory org
ans of nematodes. We had two objectives: (1) to determine the location
of carbohydrate exudates on the surface of three species of entomopat
hogenic nematodes with different foraging strategies and (2) to evalua
te the importance of carbohydrates in host finding and recognition. St
einernema carpocapsae finds hosts by ambushing, and most individuals r
espond poorly to host cues. No specific areas of lectin binding were r
ecorded for this species. Wheat germ agglutinin bound specifically to
the anterior region of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and to the anteri
or and posterior of S. glaseri. These two nematode species are cruise
foragers and are highly responsive to host cues. The behavioral effect
s of lectins varied. None of the species' responses to volatile host c
ues was affected. S. carpocapsae's rate of attachment during ambushing
was increased by treatment with WGA, and this effect was negated by t
reatment with a competing sugar (N-acetylglucosamine). The infectivity
of S. glaseri in an assay that required movement through 5 cm of sand
to find the host was significantly decreased by treatment with WGA.