FEMS Microbiology Ecology (2006) 58, 593-600

Sofia R. Costa, Brian R. Kerry, Richard D. Bardgett and Keith G. Davies (2006)
Exploitation of immunofluorescence for the quantification and characterization of small numbers of Pasteuria endospores
FEMS Microbiology Ecology 58 (3), 593-600
Abstract: The Pasteuria group of endospore-forming bacteria has been studied as a biocontrol agent of plant-parasitic nematodes. Techniques have been developed for its detection and quantification in soil samples, and these mainly focus on observations of endospore attachment to nematodes. Characterization of Pasteuria populations has recently been performed with DNA-based techniques, which usually require the extraction of large numbers of spores. We describe a simple immunological method for the quantification and characterization of Pasteuria populations. Bayesian statistics were used to determine an extraction efficiency of 43% and a threshold of detection of 210 endospores g^-1 sand. This provided a robust means of estimating numbers of endospores in small-volume samples from a natural system. Based on visual assessment of endospore fluorescence, a quantitative method was developed to characterize endospore populations, which were shown to vary according to their host.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Keith G. Davies

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
surveys/distribution/isolation

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
Pasteuria (genus - antagonists)