Attraction of Nematodes to Living Mycelium of Nematophagous Fungi

Abstract

Methods were designed to detect attraction and repulsion of nematodes by fungi and determine the attraction intensity of different fungi. Of 23 fungi tested, 15 attracted the bacteria-feeding nematode Panagrellus redivivus. Of the 14 nematophagous fungi tested, ten attracted and one repelled nematodes, whereas three were neutral. Among nine non-nematophagous fungi, five attracted nematodes. In general, the attraction intensity increased with increasing dependence of the fungi on nematodes for nutrients.