Experimental study demonstrates strain-dependent host-seeking motility and chemoreceptor binding in entomopathogenic nematodes, indicating chemical cues drive insect host recognition.
The present study investigates the variations in host recognition behaviour of five newly isolated Himalayan strains of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora towards greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella (Linnaeus, 1758; Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) using a dual approach. Average distance travelled for host seeking was maximum in case of H. bacteriophora PP549990 [10 min (1.096 ± 0.04), 20 min (1.102 ± 0.033), and 30 min (1.089 ± 0.039)] significantly followed by H. bacteriophora PP549987 [10 min (0.913 ± 0.04), 20 min (0.931 ± 0.045), and 30 min (0.824 ± 0.045)]. The least distance was travelled by H. bacteriophora PP549989 [10 min (0.324 ± 0.04), 20 min (0.342 ± 0.04), and 30 min (0.376 ± 0.047)]. To complement these findings, molecular docking analyses were performed to simulate interactions between nematode G-protein coupled chemoreceptors (GPCRs) and host-derived excretory compounds, including uric acid, allantoin, arginine, xanthine, and hexanal. Docking results revealed binding affinities between several ligands and GPCRs, suggesting their potential role in modulating nematode host-seeking behaviour.
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Fatimah et al. (2026) studied this question.
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