Redescription and molecular characterization of Panagrellus ceylonensis (Nematoda, Rhabditida, Panagrolaimidae) from India

A species of genus Panagrellus was discovered from a wet season form of an oriental common evening brown butterfly Melanitis leda. In this study, a detailed description of Panagrellus ceylonensis is provided including the morphometry, light microscopy and molecular (18S and 28S rDNA genes) studies. Morphological studies on the species agree with original description and characterized by having 12501481m long body in females and 9491305m in males, lateral fields with four longitudinal incisures, lip region continuous and 811 m wide, six offset lips with protruding labial sensilla, neck 124173 m long, excretory pore at the level of basal bulb, vulva post-equatorial (V = 6871), vagina anteriorly orientated with heavily muscled vaginal walls, post-vulval uterine sac 111135 m long or 1.72.6 times as long as the corresponding body diameter, tail conical elongate with an acute terminus in both sexes, spicule 7191 m long, ventrally curved having hooked manubrium and bifurcated lamina tip, lamina ventrally curved with dorsal deflexion at about 60% of spicule length, gubernaculum 2631 m long and well developed. Morphologically, the Indian population of P. ceylonensis does not show a significant difference from the type material of P. ceylonensis in the original description. For molecular studies of this species, the sequence of 18S rDNA is obtained for the first time. Phylogenetic trees based on 18S and 28S rDNA sequences are provided in this study. Additionally, bionomics and global distribution of the species of Panagrellus genus are also discussed. In conclusion, our study provides a comprehensive morphological characterisation and molecular marker sequences of 18S, and 28S genes that can be used to support future taxonomical research on this species and emphasizes the importance of combining molecular data with morphological data to describe the species accurately.

Redescription and phylogenetic analysis of the type species of the genus Panagrellus Thorne, 1938 (Rhabditida, Panagrolaimidae), P. pycnus Thorne, 1938, including the first SEM study

The identity of Panagrellus pycnus, the type species of the genus Panagrellus, is discussed after studying specimens from a cultured population collected in Italy that fits the original material of the species. A new characterization is consequently provided as follows: body 0.93–1.32 mm long, lip region continuous with the adjoining body, stoma with gymnostom very reduced, pharynx with not swollen metacorpus, neck 161–203 µm long, excretory pore at level of the metacorpus, post-vulval uterine sac 99–162 µm long or 2.6–3.8 times as long as the body diameter divided in a short tubular proximal part and a long swollen distal part, vulva post-equatorial (V = 63–69), female tail conical elongate with acute terminus (133–170 µm, c = 6.8–8.1, c’ = 4.9–7.0), male tail conical elongate with acute terminus (104–137 µm, c = 7.8–10.9, c’ = 3.6–5.1), and spicules 70–81 µm long having angular hook-like and very curved ventrad lamina ending in a spatulate tip with a refringent forked axis. The evolutionary relationships of this species and the genus Panagrellus, as derived from the analyses of 18S and 28S rDNA fragments, are discussed. Additionally, the phylogenetic relationships among the members of the infraorder Panagrolaimomorpha is studied, being the genus Tarantobelus transferred to the family Panagrolaimidae and the new subfamily Tarantobelinae n. subfam. is proposed to accommodate it.

Pristionchus nematodes occur frequently in diverse rotting vegetal substrates and are not exclusively necromenic, while Panagrellus redivivoides is found specifically in rotting fruits

The lifestyle and feeding habits of nematodes are highly diverse. Several species of Pristionchus (Nematoda: Diplogastridae), including Pristionchus pacificus, have been reported to be necromenic, i.e. to associate with beetles in their dauer diapause stage and wait until the death of their host to resume development and feed on microbes in the decomposing beetle corpse. We review the literature and suggest that the association of Pristionchus to beetles may be phoretic and not necessarily necromenic. The view that Pristionchus nematodes have a necromenic lifestyle is based on studies that have sought Pristionchus only by sampling live beetles. By surveying for nematode genera in different types of rotting vegetal matter, we found Pristionchus spp. at a similar high frequency as Caenorhabditis, often in large numbers and in feeding stages. Thus, these Pristionchus species may feed in decomposing vegetal matter. In addition, we report that one species of Panagrellus (Nematoda: Panagrolaimidae), Panagrellus redivivoides, is found in rotting fruits but not in rotting stems, with a likely association with Drosophila fruitflies. Based on our sampling and the observed distribution of feeding and dauer stages, we propose a life cycle for Pristionchus nematodes and Panagrellus redivivoides that is similar to that of C. elegans, whereby they feed on the microbial blooms on decomposing vegetal matter and are transported between food patches by coleopterans for Pristionchus spp., fruitflies for Panagrellus redivivoides and isopods and terrestrial molluscs for C. elegans.