A new wild strain of Caenorhabditis elegans associated with Allograpta exotica (Syrphidae) in Argentina: an update of its ecological niche and worldwide distribution

SALAS A; RUSCONI JM; DIAZ LUCAS MF; BALCAZAR DARIO; ROCCA M; ACHINELLY MF

ANAIS DA ACADEMIA BRASILEIRA DE CIENCIAS.

ACAD BRASILEIRA DE CIENCIAS

Lugar: Rio de Janeiro; Año: 2022 vol. 94

0001-3765

Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living nematode, belonging to the bacterivorous trophic group.Although it was cited in several countries, in different types of ecosystems and in associations with other organisms, the wild habitats of this nematode have not yet been precisely defined. In Argentina, C. elegans was recently isolated from the hoverfly Allograpta exotica, a voraciouspredator with potential biological control against aphids in horticultural crops. In this frame, theobjectives of this study were (i) to characterize it molecularly and morphologically (ii) to report awild strain of C. elegans for the first time from Argentina, (iii) to present a new ecological niche byassociating it with A. exotica and (iv) to evaluate the pathogenicity against these insects. The results of the morphological and molecular analyses made it possible to determine that theisolated nematode was C. elegans, thus establishing the ARGLP1900 wild strain as the first recordof this nematode for Argentina. A new association was described, since there are no records ofinteraction between C. elegans and A. exotica, providing information on a new ecological niche.The new wild strain found in this work, could be appropriate for comparative genomic studies with other C. elegans strains.