First Report of Entomopathogenic Nematode Steinernema Feltiae (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) from Croatia

I Majić; A Sarajlić; T Lakatos; T Tóth; E Raspudić; V Zebec; G Kanižai Šarić; M Kovačić; Ž Laznik

doi:10.2478/helm-2018-0024

First Report of Entomopathogenic Nematode Steinernema Feltiae (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) from Croatia

Helminthologia. 2018 Jul 28;55(3):256-260. doi: 10.2478/helm-2018-0024. eCollection 2018 Sep.

Authors

I Majić¹, A Sarajlić¹, T Lakatos², T Tóth², E Raspudić¹, V Zebec¹, G Kanižai Šarić¹, M Kovačić¹, Ž Laznik³

Affiliations

¹ Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek, Faculty of Agriculture, Vladimira Preloga 1, HR31000 Osijek, Croatia.
² National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre, Fruit Culture Research Institute, H4244, Vadastag 2, Ujfehereto, Hungary.
³ University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Agronomy, Jamnikarjeva 101, SLO1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Abstract

A survey of entomopathogenic nematodes was conducted in Croatia between 2016 and 2017. The steinernematids were recovered in two out of 100 soil samples from agricultural land characterized as loamy soils with acidic reaction. Molecular and morphological identification was used to distinguish the nematodes. The isolates were identified as two different strains conspecific with Steinernema feltiae. The variations in morphometrical characteristics of infective juveniles (IJs) and males were observed among Croatian strains and with the original description. The analysis of ITS region revealed the greatest similarity of Croatian strains with Slovenian B30 and English A2 strains, which together comprised a monophyletic group in evolutionary analysis. This is the first record of steinernematids, namely S. feltiae in Croatia.

Keywords: Croatia; Steinernema feltiae; morphological variations; strain; survey.