The soil mite Cunaxa capreolus (Acari: Cunaxidae) as a predator of the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita and the citrus Nematode, Tylenchulus semipenetrans: Implications for biological control

Abstract

Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are dangerous pests, causing serious losses to the world’s agricultural crops. As soil-dwelling predaceous mites are known as potential biological control agents against many pests, we investigated the interactions between the cunaxid mite, Cunaxa capreolus (Berlese), and two plant parasites (root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) and the citrus Nematode, Tylenchulus semipenetrans Cobb under laboratory conditions. The predatory mite C. capreolus completed its life-span when fed on egg masses EM and second-stage juveniles J2 of M. incognita and J2 juveniles of T. semipenetrans as food sources in the laboratory in sealed arenas at 32ºC, 60% relative humidity in the dark. Males developed slightly faster than females irrespective of different prey. Adult females lived longer than males and showed a higher rate of food consumption. Life table parameters indicated that feeding C. capreolus on J2 juveniles of M. incognita and J2 juveniles of T. semipenetrans led to the highest reproduction rate (r<sub>m</sub>= 0.185 and 0.167 females/female/day), while feeding on EM of M. incognita gave the lowest reproduction rate (r<sub>m</sub>= 0.085). The results show that C. capreolus multiplied rapidly when juveniles of M. incognita and T. semipenetrans were offered as prey, indicating the mite’s potential for regulating population densities of these two pests. Future research should focus on understanding the crop and soil management applications required to enable this cunaxid mite and other predatory species to thrive. The implications of these results on biological control of plant parasitic nematodes are discussed.

Soil Nematodes as a Means of Conservation of Soil Predatory Mites for Biocontrol

“…Comparison of the effect of a nematode-based diet and other diets on mite fitness has only been conducted for Cunaxa capreolus (Berlese) and Pulaeus pseudominutus (Shiba). The fecundity of C. capreolus was higher when feeding on J2 of M. incognita than when feeding on J2 of Tylenchulus semipenetrans Cobb [120] and was higher when feeding on the colembolan Entomobrya musatica Stach than on the nematode Mesorhabditis scanica (Allgén) Sudhaus (cited as Rhabditis scanica Allgén) [119]. In the case of P. pseudominutus, no differences in fecundity were observed when mites were fed with the fungi Fusarium oxysporum Schltdl.…”

“…More studies have been performed, but the results show that this mite group does not seem to have a nematophagous habit for the most part. A total of 16 species, mainly of the family Cunaxidae, are reported to consume nematodes, with most able to be reared or developed on nematode-based diets [116][117][118][119][120]. Walter [7] found that several species of Eupodidae are capable of feeding on nematodes, but at low frequency and with a preference for microphytes.…”

Review: predatory soil mites as biocontrol agents of above- and below-ground plant pests

“…Plant parasitic nematodes are pests in many agricultural crops; they affect plant growth and fruit production by attacking plant roots, causing lesions, cysts, and gall formation (Moens et al 2009 ; Perry and Moens 2011 ; Sikora et al 2018 ). In laboratory experiments, all mobile stages of the predatory soil mite Cunaxa capreolus (Berlese) successfully preyed on egg masses and second-instar larvae of the root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid & White) and the citrus nematode Tylenchulus semipenetrans Cobb (Al-Azzazy and Al-Rehiayani 2022 ). The predatory soil mite Blattisocius dolichus Ma was able to complete its life cycle on a diet of the nematode Radophulus similis (Cobb) Thorne and control it in potted Anthurium andreanum plants (Chen et al 2013 ; Table 1 ).…”

“…(Actinotrichida: Trombidifromes: Erythraeidae) Frankliniella occidentalis 27 Blattisocius dolichus Ma (Parasitiformes: Mesotigmata: Blattisociidae) Radophulus similis (Cobb) Thorne (burrowing nematode) (Rhabditica: Panagrolaimida: Pratylenchidae ) 11 Meloidogyne incognita 37 Geolaelaps gillespiei n. sp. (Parasitiformes: Mesostigmata: Lealapidae) Frankliniella occidentalis 5 Parasitus bitoberosus Karg (Parasitiformes: Mesotigmata: Parasitidae) Thrips tabaci 9 Lasioseius fimetorum Karg (Parasitiformes: Mesostigmata: Ascidae) Frankliniella occidentalis 12 Cunaxa capreolus (Berlese) (Acariformes: Trombidiformes: Cunaxidae) Meloidogyne incognita 2 Tylenchulus semipenetrans Cobb (citrus nematode) (Tylenchina: Tylenchida: Tylenchulidae) 2 Table reference list: 1 Ajvad et al ( 2018 ); 2 Al-Azzazy and Al-Rehiayani ( 2022 ); 3 Azevedo et al ( 2020 ); 4 Baatrup et al ( 2006 ); 5 Beaulieu ( 2009 ); 6 Berndt et al ( 2004a ); 7 Berndt et al ( 2004b ); 8 Castilho et al ( 2009 ); 9 Castro-López and Martínez-Osorio ( 2021 ); 10 Chambers et al ( 1993 ); 11 Chen et al ( 2013 ); 12 Enkegaard and Brødsgaard ( 2000 ); 13 Freire et al ( 2007 ); 14 Gillespie and Quiring ( 1990 ); 15 Glockemann ( 1992 ); 16 Jensen et al ( 2019 ); 17 Jess and Bingham ( 2004 ); 18 Kasuga et al ( 2006 ); 19 Lesna et al ( 1996 ); 20 Lesna et al ( 2000 ); 21 Lesna et al ( 2014 ); 22 Messelink and van Wensveen ( 2003 ); 23 Messelink and van Slooten ( 2004 ); 24 Messelink and van Holstein-Saj ( 2006 ); 25 Messelink et al ( 2008 ); 26 Moreira et al ( 2015 ); 27 Muñoz-Cárdenas et al ( 2014 ); 28 Muñoz-Cárdenas ( …”

“… Table reference list: 1 Ajvad et al ( 2018 ); 2 Al-Azzazy and Al-Rehiayani ( 2022 ); 3 Azevedo et al ( 2020 ); 4 Baatrup et al ( 2006 ); 5 Beaulieu ( 2009 ); 6 Berndt et al ( 2004a ); 7 Berndt et al ( 2004b ); 8 Castilho et al ( 2009 ); 9 Castro-López and Martínez-Osorio ( 2021 ); 10 Chambers et al ( 1993 ); 11 Chen et al ( 2013 ); 12 Enkegaard and Brødsgaard ( 2000 ); 13 Freire et al ( 2007 ); 14 Gillespie and Quiring ( 1990 ); 15 Glockemann ( 1992 ); 16 Jensen et al ( 2019 ); 17 Jess and Bingham ( 2004 ); 18 Kasuga et al ( 2006 ); 19 Lesna et al ( 1996 ); 20 Lesna et al ( 2000 ); 21 Lesna et al ( 2014 ); 22 Messelink and van Wensveen ( 2003 ); 23 Messelink and van Slooten ( 2004 ); 24 Messelink and van Holstein-Saj ( 2006 ); 25 Messelink et al ( 2008 ); 26 Moreira et al ( 2015 ); 27 Muñoz-Cárdenas et al ( 2014 ); 28 Muñoz-Cárdenas ( 2017 ); 29 Navarro-Campos et al ( 2016 ); 30 Navarro-Campos et al ( 2020 ); 31 Pozzebon et al ( 2015 ); 32 Rahman et al ( 2012 ); 33 Sabelis et al ( 2008 ); 34 Wright and Chambers ( 1994 ); 35 Wu et al ( 2014 ); 36 Wu et al ( 2016 ); 37 Xu et al ( 2014 ); 38 Yan et al ( 2022 ); 39 Yang et al ( 2020 ); 40 Zhang et al ( 2021 ) …”