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Abstract:
Nematodes of the family Diplogastridae often show a close association with bark beetles. Although numerous species of bark-beetle-associated diplogastrids were described more then 40 years ago, much remains to be studied on the biology, ecology, and life histories of these nematodes. We combine field studies and experimental approaches to investigate this. We collect bark beetles from different countries, screen them for presence of diplogastrid nematodes and then study beetle-nematode associations under controlled laboratory conditions. To date we examined more than 2000 beetles from 34 species. Of those, 14 beetle species yielded 365 isolates of diplogastrids belonging to 19 putative species. Isolated nematodes show very high level of host specificity. Cophylogenetic analysis shows that certain nematode clades tend to be associated with particular bark beetle clades. This suggests that coevolution between nematodes and some host lineages could have taken place. We also show that chemical substances from host trees and host beetles affect dauer recovery of diplogastrids. Thus, nematodes may use them to link their life histories to the life cycles of their host bark beetles.
