Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita
| Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Third stage dauer larva P. hermaphrodita | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Nematoda |
| Class: | Secernentea |
| Order: | Rhabditida |
| Family: | Rhabditidae |
| Subfamily: | Peloderinae |
| Genus: | Phasmarhabditis |
| Species: | P. hermaphrodita |
| Binomial name | |
|
Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita (A. Schneider, 1859) |
|
Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita is a facultative parasitic nematode that can kill slugs and snails. It belongs to the family Rhabditidae, the same family as Caenorhabditis elegans. The Genus of Phasmarhabditis (Greek: Phasma = (φάσμα (monster); rhabditis = (ῥάβδος (rod-like)) is made up of 10 species including P. hermaphrodita,P. neopapillosa,P. californica,P. papillosa,P. apuliae,P. bohemica,P. bonaquaense,P. huizhouensis,P. nidrosiensis,P. valida and P. tawfiki.
P. hermaphrodita is a bacterial-feeding nematode and is a lethal parasite of several terrestrial gastropod families such as Arionidae, Milacidae and Limacidae. It is also able to reproduce on rotting matter or penetrate and remain in resistant slug and snail species where it awaits for their death and will then reproduce on the cadaver (necromeny). P. hermaphrodita was first isolated and documented by A. Schneider in 1859 and was intensively studied in the 1990s by researchers at Long Ashton Research centre who were focussed on finding a new biocontrol agent for slugs. P. hermaphrodita was isolated here and developed as a biological control agent (Nemaslug®) for minimising agriculture damage from slugs and snails in 1994.
P. hermaphrodita is unsegmented, vermiform, bilateral symmetrical pseudocoelomate. The body dimensions and structure of P. hermaphrodita is comparable to C. elegans' with a body length 1.3 - 1.7 mm long and an estimated circumference of 0.180mm. The primary structures are the Rhabditida-specific mouth, the pharynx, the intestine, the reproductive system (uterus, spermatheca, gonads) and the cuticle. Like all nematodes, it has four muscle bands that span the length of the body and has no devoted respiratory or circulatory system.
...
Wikipedia