Soil samples from 79 sites on five islands of Indonesia were baited with insects for the recovery of entomopathogenic nematodes. Heterorhabditis and Steinernema were equally prevalent, and were recovered from 11.7% of samples representing 20.3% of sites sampled. Both genera were recovered from coastal sites only. Entomopathogenic nematodes were more prevalent on the Moluccan islands of Ambon and Seram than on Java or Bali. They were not detected on Sulawesi, where non-coastal sites only were sampled. RFLP analysis was used in the identification of nematode isolates. Heterorhabditis indica was the only heterorhabditid identified. Two RFLP types of Steinernema were identified.
Summary -Steinernema hermaphroditum n. sp., a new entomopathogenic nematode isolated from soil samples in the Moluccan islands, Indonesia, is described. Morphological observations as well as biological evidence (cross-hybridisation studies) indicate the distinctness of S. hermaphroditum n. sp. from other Steinernema spp. This new species is characterised by the presence of hermaphrodites in the first adult generation. Key morphological diagnostic characters include: a digitate tail with a mucro and a glandular spermatheca filled with sperm in the first generation hermaphrodite; the value of D%; the morphology of the male spicules and gubernaculum and the number and arrangement of the genital papillae; the values of D%, E% and the pattern of the lateral field of the third-stage infective juvenile. Additionally, molecular evidence obtained from ITS rDNA RFLP profiles, 28S rDNA sequence analyses, and phylogenetic reconstruction provide further evidence to establish this nematode as a new species.
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