Very dark soil under leaf litter from a park forest (Mahy property) in
Landegem, Belgium. Mixed deciduous trees (sample taken 2m from an oak).
Collected by Paul De Ley in November 1994.
Xenic: "Wet plates": 3-5 drops of E. coli in 4 ml P-buffer (0.05M
KH2PO4/K2HPO4 to pH 7.3) on 1% pure agar + 5 µg/ml cholesterol. Keep
at 16-18C.
Inoculation procedure:
E. coli are suspended over FRESH plates the day before transfer
of nematodes as follows.
pipette 4 ml of P-buffer (pH 7.3) onto a 9 cm plate,
add 3-5 drops of E. coli with a narrow Pasteur pipette,
stir the plate gently, and then incubate the plate for a night at RT (this
allows the E. coli to form a thin mat on the agar).
Transfer a large number of specimens with a (glass) Pasteur pipette, or
transfer individual animals in 2 ml with a micropipette with non-sticky
tip (e.g. siliconized or glass tip drawn out as finely as possible and
welded onto a cut plastic tip with paraffin). AVOID USING NEEDLES.
Long-term storage:
Freezing has not been attempted.
Availability:
Freely available on agar.
Description:
Anderson, R.V. (1969). Comparative morphology and descriptions of three
new species of Teratocephalus from Canada. Canadian Journal of Zoology,
47: 829-840. Karegar, A.; De Ley, P. & Geraert, E. (in press). Three
teratocephalid nematodes from Iran. Fundamental and Applied Nematology,
:-.
Identification:
Paul De Ley.
Notes:
Males not yet seen. Reproduction is slow (1 egg per female per week? 2
weeks generation time?), but massive numbers can build up in well-sealed
plates left alone for three to four months after inoculating abundantly.
Specimens are quite sensitive to pH and desiccation; perhaps also to salinity
(S-buffer not recommended). Feeding extra E. coli is not necessary
for build-up and even results in nematode mortality (pH-shock?).
Last Updated: 27 March 1998
