Xenorhabdus (Poinar and Thomas, 1979) i Photorhabdus spp. (Boemare, 1993) to entomopatogeniczne bakterie o szerokim zakresie żywicieli, symbiotycznie związane z nicieniami z rodzin Steinernematidae (Filipjev, 1934) i Heterorhabditidae (Poinar, 1976). Entomo­patogeniczne nicienie są wektorami, umożliwiającymi bakteriom wniknięcie do ciała owada, a następnie zabicie larw owadów i prze­kształcenie zwłok w źródło pożywienia odpowiednie dla wzrostu i rozwoju nicieni. W tym badaniu oceniano patogeniczność zawiesiny bakteryjnej Photorhabdus i Xenorhabdus przeciwko larwom Galleria mellonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Różne stężenia bakterii (tj. 75, 100 i 125 CFU/ml) zostały wykorzystane do określenia procentowej śmiertelności larw. Śmiertelność przy najwyższym stężeniu osiągnęła 82,5–87,5% po 7 dniach obserwacji. We wszystkich dawkach najwyższą śmiertelność uzyskano po zastosowaniu Xenorhab­dus sp. wyizolowanego z Steinernema kraussei. Aby wybrać odpowiednią temperaturę do dalszych eksperymentów, bakterie poddano działaniu różnych temperatur (15, 20, 25, 30 i 35°C). Wyniki wykazały, że patogeniczność bakterii wzrosła w temperaturze 20°C i spadław temperaturze 35°C. Przedstawione wyniki sugerują, że bakterie Photorhabdus i Xenorhabdus mogą być obiecującymi kandydatami jako czynniki biokontroli, ale należy przeprowadzić więcej badań terenowych w celu przetestowania odporności bakterii na różne warunki środowiskowe.

Xenorhabdus (Poinar and Thomas, 1979) and Photorhabdus spp. (Boemare, 1993) are entomopathogenic bacteria with a wide insect host range, symbiotically associated with nematodes of the families Steinernematidae (Filipjev, 1934) and Heterorhabditidae (Poinar, 1976), respectively. Entomopathogenic nematodes are vectors, allowing bacteria to enter the insect’s body, then kill the insect larvae and convert the cadaver into a food source suitable for the growth and development of nematodes. In this study, the pathogenicity of the bacterial suspension of Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus against Galleria mellonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) larvae was evaluated. Different bacterial concentrations (i.e., 75, 100 and 125 CFU/ml) were used to determine the percent mortality of larvae. The mortality rate at the highest concentration reached 82.5–87.5% at 7-day follow-up. At all doses, the highest mortality was obtained after the use of Xenorhabdus sp. isolated from Steinernema kraussei. To select an appropriate temperature for further experiment, bacteria were exposed to different temperatures (15, 20, 25, 30 and 35°C). The results showed that bacterial pathogenicity increased at 20°C and decreased at 35°C. The results presented here suggest that Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus bacteria may be a promising candidate in biocontrol agents, but more field studies should be conducted to test the resistance and robustness of the bacteria to various environ­mental conditions.

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