1 results about "Entomopathogenic nematode" patented technology

Entomopathogenic nematodes are a group of nematodes (thread worms), causing death to insects. The term entomopathogenic has a Greek origin entomon, refers to insect, and pathogenic, which denotes causing disease. They are multi-cellular metazoans that occupy a bio control middle ground between microbial pathogens and predator/ parasitoids, and are habitually grouped with pathogens, most likely because of their symbiotic relationship with bacteria. Although many other parasitic thread worms cause diseases in living organisms (sterilizing or otherwise debilitating their host), entomopathogenic nematodes, are specific in only infecting insects. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) live parasitically inside the infected insect host, and so they are termed as endoparasitic. They infect many different types of insects living in the soil like the larval forms of moths, butterflies, flies and beetles as well as adult forms of beetles, grasshoppers and crickets. EPNs have been found in all over the world and a range of ecologically diverse habitats. They are highly diverse, complex and specialized. The most commonly studied entomopathogenic nematodes are those that can be used in the biological control of harmful insects, the members of Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae (Gaugler 2006). They are the only insect-parasitic nematodes possessing an optimal balance of biological control attributes. (Cranshaw & Zimmerman 2013).