营养盐限制条件下塔玛亚历山大藻对东海原甲藻的化感作用研究

为明确塔玛亚历山大藻(Alexandrium tamarense)对东海原甲藻(Prorocentrum donghaiense)生长的化感作用,研究了在N、P限制及正常营养盐条件下(又称富营养)塔玛亚历山大藻无细胞滤液对东海原甲藻生长的影响,并探讨了3种不同营养盐条件下两种藻共培养时的生长状况。结果表明,半连续培养时,营养盐限制下,塔玛亚历山大藻无细胞滤液对东海原甲藻的生长均有一定影响。N限制下,5 d后东海原甲藻藻密度显著低于未加滤液的对照组,藻密度为1.02×107 cells L-1,对照组为1.7×107 cells L-1;P限制下,东海原甲藻藻密度与对照组差异不显著,5 d后藻密度为1.44×107 cells L-1;富营养条件下,东海原甲藻藻密度与对照组无明显区别。共培养时,塔玛亚历山大藻对东海原甲藻生长的抑制作用更为显著,N、P限制下,4 d后东海原甲藻全部死亡,且聚集成团形成沉淀;富营养条件下,仍有少量东海原甲藻存活(藻密度3.3×104 cells L-1)。这表明,塔玛亚历山大藻对东海原甲藻的生长有一定的化感作用。营养盐限制可促进塔玛亚历山大藻化感物质的合成和释放,化感作用是塔玛亚历山大藻抑制东海原甲藻生长的原因之一。     

不同起始密度对3种赤潮微藻种间竞争的影响

通过共培养的方法,研究了不同起始密度对赤潮异弯藻和中肋骨条藻、塔玛亚历山大藻和赤潮异弯藻、塔玛亚历山大藻和中肋骨条藻之间种间竞争的影响。结果表明1赤潮异弯藻对中肋骨条藻的生长有一定的抑制作用,随着初始接种时赤潮异弯藻细胞密度的提高,这种抑制作用愈加明显。2塔玛亚历山大藻和中肋骨条藻与塔玛亚历山大藻和赤潮异弯藻之间的种间竞争结果相类似,即起始密度比例为A∶S(H)=1∶4时,中肋骨条藻和赤潮异弯藻分别在竞争中占优势;当起始密度比例为A∶S(H)=1∶1和A∶S(H)=4∶1,塔玛亚历山大藻在竞争中占优势。     

氮源对塔玛亚历山大藻生长和毒性的影响

为了掌握不同氮源对塔玛亚历山大藻(Alexandrium tamarense)生长和毒性的影响,实验选定硝酸钠、氯化铵、尿素和甘氨酸作为4种氮源,在温度和光强分别为20℃和200μmol photons·m-2·s-1的培养箱中,采用人工海水一次性培养藻细胞,培养基N和P浓度分别以F/20加富,并收集对数期细胞用于斑马鱼胚胎48 h急性毒理实验。结果表明:4种氮源都可以支持细胞生长,但不同氮源培养的藻细胞生长速率不同,表现为铵氮(0.25 d~(-1))硝氮(0.20 d~(-1))尿素=甘氨酸(0.12 d~(-1));4种氮源对细胞色素的含量无显著影响;与对照组(胚胎培养液)相比,在细胞密度为2×10~4cells·mL~(-1)时,塔玛亚历山大藻细胞粗提液对斑马鱼胚胎表现出显著的毒性作用,可造成胚胎的凝固、发育迟缓、卵黄膜破裂、卵黄囊水肿及尾巴弯曲等;当细胞密度增加到8×10~4cells·mL-1时,毒性进一步增加,且4种氮源对毒性的影响出现显著差异,表现为硝氮尿素=甘氨酸铵氮。综上所述,塔玛亚历山大藻的生长和毒性对氮源的响应机制存在差异,但4种氮源都支持生长,因此,在环境变化和水体营养盐结构复杂化的情况下,塔玛亚历山大藻仍可维持生长并持续爆发藻华,对生态环境造成威胁。     

浙江南麂海域塔玛亚历山大藻种群动态及其与环境因子的关系

基于2006年4月至2007年3月在浙江南麂海域的调查结果,对南麂海域塔玛亚历山大藻的种群动态及其与环境因子的关系进行了研究.结果表明：塔玛亚历山大藻在南麂海域仅出现在春季（4—6月）;藻细胞密度在春季呈规则的单峰曲线,表层水体中藻细胞密度的最高值（12250 cells·L^-1）出现在5月8日;塔玛亚历山大藻集中出现在水温18.5 ℃～19.5℃、盐度29.5‰～31.0‰的水体中;较高的藻细胞密度与较低的磷酸盐浓度相对应,氮盐浓度的变化与藻细胞密度之间没有明显的对应关系.逐步线性回归结果表明,塔玛亚历山大藻细胞密度与N∶P存在显著的正相关关系.     

塔玛亚历山大藻遗传多样性的微卫星分析

应用12个微卫星标记对9株来自欧洲和中国等不同海域的塔玛亚历山大藻(Alexandrium tamarense)进行了遗传多样性分析,探讨了不同地理藻株之间的遗传分化程度和基因流水平,分析了我国沿海塔玛亚历山大藻的遗传多样性。结果表明：9株塔玛亚历山大藻共检测出26个等位基因,其中9个位点具有多态性,多态比率75%。有效等位基因数1.3243～3.2667,平均为1.8774。塔玛亚历山大藻种内基因多样性为0.3630。9株塔玛亚历山大藻大致可以分为3个进化支,进化支与藻株的地理位置相关联。其中,中国海域的塔玛亚历山大藻至少可分为2个进化支。不同地理分布的塔玛亚历山大藻的遗传分化水平较高,达0.7522。种群间的基因流估算水平较低,提示3个种群间可能不存在基因交流。     

长江口塔玛亚历山大藻孢囊的形成、发展及其与赤潮动力学的关系

有毒甲藻棗塔玛亚历山大藻(Alexandrium tamarense(Leboru)Balech)在低氮的F\2培养液中会形成休眠孢囊.在试验的递度中,f\20NO3-诱导效率最高,一次性培养中孢囊形成率达到2%.大约73.2%和17.6%的孢囊在接种后的第八天和第九天形成.新形成的孢囊3d后红色体开始出现,并持续地分泌粘性物质,这可能有助于孢囊的扩散和生存.孢囊在15和20℃保存下的休眠期分别为15和10d.孢囊需要温度的改变就能萌发,在20℃条件下孢囊密度分别降到了4.5和0.9个\g,说明2002年亚历山大大藻孢囊在春季和各有一次萌发.赤潮发生过程中产生的孢囊会很快通过萌发回到水体中,无论季节和水温如何.2003年5月DG-26站位表层沉积物中亚历山大藻孢囊密度只有3.3个\g,但这些孢囊均是新形成的.在长江口,种群初始的大小不是决定塔玛亚历山大藻赤潮发生的关键因素.     

赤潮藻塔玛亚历山大藻对褶皱臂尾轮虫生活史特征的影响

采用生命表方法,研究了不同浓度塔玛亚历山大藻对褶皱臂尾轮虫生命周期中各发育阶段历时以及种群增长参数的影响．结果表明：塔玛亚历山大藻对褶皱臂尾轮虫的生长发育有明显影响,使轮虫的繁殖前期和世代时间延长,繁殖期、繁殖后期和平均寿命缩短,产卵量和繁殖率降低．轮虫的净生殖率和内禀增长率均低于对照．不同藻浓度下轮虫能够维持一定的种群增长．     

塔玛亚历山大藻对氮和磷的吸收及其生长特性

参照塔玛亚历山大藻(Alexandrium tamarense)赤潮爆发时的物理条件,以f／2加富的人工海水为培养基,设定了不同的氮、磷水平,研究了在室内批量培养条件下,塔玛亚历山大藻对无机氮、磷的吸收和无机氮、磷对塔玛亚历山大藻细胞生长的影响．结果表明,3种氮浓度条件下,塔玛亚历山大藻的比生长速率几乎没有差异,但低氮(0．0882mmol·L-1)条件下,藻细胞的生物量最低;中氮(0．882mmol·L-1)条件下,藻细胞具有最大的生物量,分别比高氮(2．646mmol·L-1)和低氮下增加44．7％和53．6％．随着培养基中磷浓度的升高,藻细胞生物量也升高,在高磷(0．108mmol·L-1)条件下达到最大值17200cell·ml-1,但在中磷(0．036mmol.L-1)条件下藻细胞具有最大的比生长速率．藻细胞对氮、磷的吸收速率与生长状态有密切关系,氮、磷限制条件下生长的藻细胞对氮、磷有快速的吸收．研究显示,低的N／P比有利于塔玛亚历山大藻的生长分裂,对数生长后期适当补氮则有利于其生物量的积累．     

特丁基三嗪对两种赤潮藻去除的实验研究

研究了特丁基三嗪(tertbutyl triazille)对塔玛亚历山大藻和球形棕囊藻两种赤潮生物的杀灭和控制作用。结果表明,特丁基三嗪能有效地控制和杀灭塔玛亚历山大藻和球形棕囊藻,其中96h杀灭塔玛亚历山大藻的有效浓度为0．2mgL^-1,杀灭球形棕囊藻的有效浓度为0.3mgL^-1。特丁基三嗪具有高效、作用时效长的特点,可能是一种比较理想的赤潮藻去除剂。     

有毒亚历山大藻对卤虫存活率和摄食率的影响

研究了有毒亚历山大藻对卤虫存活率和摄食率两方面的影响,得出以下结论：在卤虫存活率实验中,有毒亚历山大藻在2000cells／ml的密度下,对卤虫具有致死效应,卤虫在24-168h内全部死亡;在摄食实验中,有毒亚历山大藻对卤虫的摄食产生明显的抑制作用,卤虫对有毒藻的平均摄食率明显低于无毒藻组和混合实验组。在加入无毒藻东海原甲藻的混合培养状态下。卤虫存活率上升,30-60min摄食率增加,东海原甲藻在一定程度上可以减轻塔玛亚历山大藻对卤虫的毒害作用。有毒藻产生的PSP毒素并非导致卤虫死亡的主要原因,毒害作用可能与出现在卤虫体外的黏附物质有关。通过对3个不同生长期卤虫的研究发现,后无节幼体卤虫对有毒亚历山大藻的毒害作用最为敏感。     

Effects of toxic Alexandrium species on the survival and feeding rates of brine shrimp, Artemia salina

Zooplankton is an important link between phytoplankton and higher consumers in the marine food chain. To investigate the harmful effects of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium species on zooplankton, 4 strains of Alexandrium spp., isolated from the Chinese coast, were used to test the species' effects on the survival and feeding rates of the brine shrimp, Artemia salina. The experiment was designed to assess the response of A. salina in each stage of its life cycle: nauplii, metanauplii, and adult. Each experiment was conducted in a 500 ml treatment that was added. The toxic treatments consisted of single strains of A. minutum, A. catanella, and A. tamarense (Nanhai and Donghai strain), while non-toxic species (dinoflagellate Prorocentrum donghaiense and diatom Chaetoceros minutissimus) were used as control treatments. An additional phytoplankton treatment consisted of, a mixture of A. tamarense (Nanhai strain) and P. donghaiense. Alexandrium spp. species were found to have lethal effects on the brine shrimp at a density of 2000 cells/ml. All the brine shrimps died within 24-168 hours of inoculation with the 4 treatments each containing single toxic Alexandrium species. During the feeding experiment, toxic Alexandrium spp. caused a reduction in the feeding rates in all the three stages of the life cycle of A. salina, whereas this response was not obvious in the treatment involving the nontoxic species P. donghaiense. The body surface of the brine shrimp that were fed on Alexandrium species was consistently covered by a sticky floc. Mortality of A. salina was observed to increase with the occurrence of the floc. The toxicity of the paralytic shellfish poisons (PSP) produced by the Alexandrium species was not significantly correlated with the survival or the feeding rate of the brine shrimp. When A. tamarense was mixed with P. donghaiense, the lethal effect of A. tamarense decreased, as shown by an increase in the survival and the feeding rates of the brine shrimp. A. salina metanauplii were found at the life stage most sensitive to the toxic algae and hunger. In summary, toxic Alexandrium spp. were found to have lethal effects on A. salina and to restrain the brine shrimp's feeding rate. Nontoxic Prorocentrum mitigated the toxicity of Alexandrium to a certain extent. The results also imply that the sticky material on the surface of the body of the brine shrimp may have been an important lethal factor rather than the PSP toxins.     

溶藻细菌BS03(Microbulbifer sp.)对塔玛亚历山大藻生长及抗氧化系统的影响

【目的】研究溶藻细菌BS03(Microbulbifer sp.)胁迫下塔玛亚历山大藻细胞光合作用、抗氧化酶系统和半胱氨酸蛋白酶3(Caspase-3)变化,探讨溶藻细菌BS03对塔玛亚历山大藻的溶藻机制。【方法】通过0.5%、1.0%、1.5%、2.0%不同终浓度BS03上清液处理藻细胞后12、24、36、48h取样,测定溶藻过程藻细胞光合色素、叶绿素荧光效率、抗氧化酶系统、Caspase酶活性变化。【结果】(1)BS03上清液处理藻细胞后,藻细胞叶绿素a含量和叶绿素荧光Fv/Fm比值随BS03上清液处理时间延长和浓度的增加呈逐渐下降趋势;低浓度处理组藻细胞类胡萝卜素含量上升到一峰值,高于对照组后逐渐回落,而高浓度处理组类胡萝素含量呈下降趋势,低于对照组;(2)藻细胞抗氧化酶保护系统(SOD和CAT)活性随着BS03上清液处理浓度增加而升高,但随着处理时间的延长呈现先上升后下降趋势。藻细胞膜脂过氧化产物MDA积累量随着BS03上清液处理时间延长和处理浓度的增加而显著提高;(3)处理组藻细胞Caspase-3活性显著高于对照组,呈现出类似程序性死亡特征。【结论】BS03的抑藻机理可能是通过抑制藻细胞光合作用,降低抗氧化酶活性、加大膜脂过氧化起到对塔玛亚历山大藻的溶解作用,并呈现出类程序性死亡特征。     

Effects of toxic Alexandrium species on the survival and feeding rates of brine shrimp, Artemia salina

Zooplankton is an important link between phytoplankton and higher consumers in the marine food chain. To investigate the harmful effects of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium species on zooplankton, 4 strains of Alexandrium spp., isolated from the Chinese coast, were used to test the species' effects on the survival and feeding rates of the brine shrimp, Artemia salina. The experiment was designed to assess the response of A. salina in each stage of its life cycle: nauplii, metanauplii, and adult. Each experiment was conducted in a 500 ml treatment that was added. The toxic treatments consisted of single strains of A. minutum, A. catanella, and A. tamarense (Nanhai and Donghai strain), while non-toxic species (dinoflagellate Prorocentrum donghaiense and diatom Chaetoceros minutissimus) were used as control treatments. An additional phytoplankton treatment consisted of, a mixture of A. tamarense (Nanhai strain) and P. donghaiense. Alexandrium spp. species were found to have lethal effects on the brine shrimp at a density of 2000 cells/ml. All the brine shrimps died within 24-168 hours of inoculation with the 4 treatments each containing single toxic Alexandrium species. During the feeding experiment, toxic Alexandrium spp. caused a reduction in the feeding rates in all the three stages of the life cycle of A. salina, whereas this response was not obvious in the treatment involving the nontoxic species P. donghaiense. The body surface of the brine shrimp that were fed on Alexandrium species was consistently covered by a sticky floc. Mortality of A. salina was observed to increase with the occurrence of the floc. The toxicity of the paralytic shellfish poisons (PSP) produced by the Alexandrium species was not significantly correlated with the survival or the feeding rate of the brine shrimp. When A. tamarense was mixed with P. donghaiense, the lethal effect of A. tamarense decreased, as shown by an increase in the survival and the feeding rates of the brine shrimp. A. salina metanauplii were found at the life stage most sensitive to the toxic algae and hunger. In summary, toxic Alexandrium spp. were found to have lethal effects on A. salina and to restrain the brine shrimp's feeding rate. Nontoxic Prorocentrum mitigated the toxicity of Alexandrium to a certain extent. The results also imply that the sticky material on the surface of the body of the brine shrimp may have been an important lethal factor rather than the PSP toxins.     

江阴港口外来船舶压载舱沉积物中甲藻包囊种类及组成

为了探究外来船舶压载舱沉积物中甲藻休眠包囊的种类组成及外来甲藻入侵风险, 本文根据包囊及其萌发细胞的形态特征辅以分子生物学信息对江阴港5艘外来船舶压载舱沉积物中的活体甲藻休眠包囊的种类进行鉴定和分析。共鉴定出甲藻休眠包囊29种(不含3种未鉴定种), 包括膝沟藻类、钙甲藻类、裸甲藻类、翼甲藻类以及原多甲藻类, 活体休眠包囊密度介于0.73-44.3 cysts/g DW。其中塔玛亚历山大藻复合种(Alexandrium tamarense species complex)、网状原角藻(Protoceratium reticulatum)、具刺膝沟藻(Gonyaulax spinifera)等有毒有害甲藻的包囊在取样的5艘船舶中均有发现。此外还发现了多种中国近海未报道的甲藻包囊种类, 其中一种经过分子手段确定为异常亚历山大藻(Alexandrium insuetum)包囊, 萌发和培养实验表明该种包囊能够在中国近海萌发并增殖, 有潜在的入侵风险和暴发赤潮的可能性。     

Identification and characterization of a "biomarker of toxicity" from the proteome of the paralytic shellfish toxin-producing dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense (Dinophyceae)

The objective of this study was to identify and characterize a "biomarker of toxicity" from the proteome of Alexandrium tamarense, a paralytic shellfish toxin (PST)-producing dinoflagellate. A combination of 2-DE and MS approaches was employed to identify proteins of interest in the vegetative cells of several strains of A. tamarense with different toxin compositions and from different geographical locations. The electrophoretic analysis of the total water-soluble proteins from these toxic strains by 2-DE showed that several abundant proteins, namely AT-T1, AT-T2 and AT-T3, differing slightly in apparent Mr and pIs, were consistently present in all toxic strains of A. tamarense. Further analysis by MALDI-TOF MS and N-terminal amino acid sequencing revealed that they are isoforms of the same protein. Even more intriguing is that these proteins in A. tamarense have similar amino acid sequences and are closely related to a "biomarker of toxicity" previously reported in A. minutum. Unambiguous and highly species-specific identification was later achieved by comparing the PMFs of proteins in these two species. An initial attempt to characterize these proteins by generation of murine polyclonal antibodies against the AT-T1 protein was successful. Western blot analysis using the murine AT-T1-polycolonal antibodies identified all the toxic strains of A. tamarense and A. minutum, but not the nontoxic strain of A. tamarense. These results indicate that these protein characteristics for toxic strains are species-specific and that they are stable properties of the tested algae which are clearly distinguishable irrespective of geographical location and toxin composition. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the use of polyclonal antibodies against marker proteins purified from 2-DE gels to distinguish different strains and species of the PST-producing dinoflagellate Alexandrium. It provides the basis for the production of monoclonal antibody probes against the "biomarkers of toxicity" for those dinoflagellates whose genome is incompletely characterized. Potentially, immunoassays could be developed to detect the presence of toxic algae in routine monitoring programs as well as to predict bloom development and movement.     

Metabolism and growth of juveniles of Litopenaeus vannamei: effect of salinity and dietary carbohydrate levels

The present study was designed to understand how carbohydrate (CBH) and protein metabolism are related in the penaeid shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. With this information, we obtained a comprehensive schedule of the protein-carbohydrate metabolism including enzymatic, energetic, and functional aspects. We used salinity to determine its role as a modulator of the protein-carbohydrate metabolism in shrimp. Two experiments were designed. The first experiment evaluated the effect of CBH-salinity combinations in growth and survival, and hemolymph glucose, protein, and ammonia levels, digestive gland glycogen, osmotic pressure, and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) of L. vannamei juveniles acclimated during 18 days at a salinity of 15 per thousand and 40 per thousand. The second experiment was done to evaluate the effect of dietary CBH level on pre- and postprandial oxygen consumption, ammonia excretion, and the oxygen-nitrogen ratio (O/N) of juvenile L. vannamei in shrimps acclimated at 40 per thousand salinity. We also evaluated the ability of shrimp to carbohydrate adaptation. We made phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PECPK) and hexokinase activity measurements after a change in dietary carbohydrate levels at different times during 10 days. The growth rate depended on the combination salinity-dietary CBH-protein level. The maximum growth rate was obtained in shrimps maintained at 15 per thousand salinity and with a diet containing low CBH and high protein. The protein in hemolymph is related to the dietary protein levels; high dietary protein levels produced a high protein concentration in hemolymph. This suggests hemolymph is able to store proteins after a salinity acclimation. Depending on the salinity, the hemolymph proteins could be used as a source of osmotic effectors or as metabolic energy. The O/N values obtained show that shrimp used proteins as a source of energy, mainly when shrimps were fed with low CBH. The role played by postprandial nitrogen excretion (PPNE) in apparent heat increase (AHI) (PPNE/AHI ratio) is lower in shrimps fed diets containing high CBH in comparison with shrimps fed diets containing low CBH levels. These results confirm that the metabolism of L. vannamei juveniles is controlled by dietary protein levels, affecting the processes involved in the mechanical and biochemical transformations of ingested food. A growth depression effect was observed in shrimps fed with low-CBH protein diets and maintained in 40 per thousand salinity. In these shrimps, the hemolymph ammonia concentration (HAC) was significantly higher than that observed in shrimps fed with low CBH and maintained in 15 per thousand salinity. That high HAC level coincided with lower growth rate, which suggests that this level might be toxic for juveniles of L. vannamei. Results obtained for GDH activity showed this enzyme regulated both HAC and hemolymph protein levels, with high values in shrimps fed with low CBH levels and maintained in 40 per thousand salinity, and lower in shrimps fed with high CBH and maintained in 15 per thousand salinity. These differences mean that shrimp with a high-gill GDH activity might waste more energy in oxidation of the excess proteins and amino acids, reducing the energy for growth. It was evident that L. vannamei can convert protein to glycogen by a gluconeogenic pathway, which permitted shrimp to maintain a minimum circulating glucose of 0.34 mg/ml in hemolymph. A high PECPK activity was observed in shrimps fed a diet containing low CBH level indicating that the gluconeogenic pathway is activated, as in vertebrates by low dietary CBH levels. After a change in diet, we observed a change in PEPCK; however, it was lower and seems to depend on the way of adaptation, because it occurred after 6 days when adapting to a high-CBH diet and with little change for the low-CBH diet.     

有害赤潮藻种塔玛亚历山大藻的研究进展

塔玛亚历山大藻(Alexandrium tamarense)是一种全球分布的有毒涡鞭毛藻,在中国的渤海、东海和南海海域均有分布。塔玛亚历山大藻是一种主要的有毒赤潮原因种,而且它能产生可经食物链传递后在贝类、鱼类等生物体内大量蓄积的麻痹性贝毒素,对水域环境和人类健康都具有极大的危害。因此,针对塔玛亚历山大藻的产生、发展以及毒素的特征等开展了广泛而深入的研究。本文主要从塔玛亚历山大藻的生长环境、分子鉴定、藻际竞争关系以及治理等方面进行了综述,为研究塔玛亚历山大藻的利弊和监控提供参考。     

几株赤潮甲藻的摄食能力

采用荧光标记的方法,在营养盐限制条件下,对6株赤潮甲藻对荧光标记的海洋细菌(FLB)、金藻(FLA)和两种粒径分别为0.5μm和2.0μm的荧光微球(FM0.5和FM2.0)4种摄食对象的摄食进行了比较研究。研究结果表明,除了东海原甲藻对4种摄食对象均没有摄食外,其它5株甲藻,微小亚历山大藻、链状亚历山大藻、塔玛亚历山大藻、海洋原甲藻和微小原甲藻均具有摄食能力,但对摄食对象的选择和摄食率有差异,多数摄食率是在4 h达到最大,白天的摄食能力强于夜间。研究说明了在营养盐限制环境中,有些具有兼性营养能力的甲藻对细菌和/或更小浮游植物的摄食能力可能对维持和促进其生长具有不可忽视的作用。     

A plant growth promoting rhizobacterium, Paenibacillus polymyxa strain GBR-1, suppresses root-knot nematode

Exposure of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita to various concentrations (5-100%) of culture filtrate of Paenibacillus polymyxa GBR-1 under in vitro conditions significantly reduced egg hatch and caused substantial mortality of its juveniles. The increase in the exposure durations of juveniles to culture filtrate and its concentrations increased the mortality rate. Similarly, higher concentrations increased its inhibitory effect on egg hatch. In higher concentrations (25-100%) egg hatch was inhibited by 84-91% after 2 days of exposures as compared to control in sterile distilled water. Application of various concentrations of culture filtrate extract or bacterial suspension of P. polymyxa GBR-1 into potting soil infested with 2000 J2 of M. incognita, reduced the root galling and nematode populations and increased tomato plant growth and root-mass production compared with untreated control (P< or = 0.05). The beneficial effect of P. polymyxa GBR-1 into potted soil increased exponentially with the increase in dose concentrations. Root gall index was reduced from 4.8 to 1.4 and 1.8 when potting soil was treated with 10% concentrations of culture filtrate extract and bacterial suspension, respectively, compared with untreated control. Application of bacterial suspension of P. polymyxa GBR-1 into potted soil at 3 day pre-inoculation of nematode was the most effective followed by simultaneously and at 2 days post-inoculation; as root galling was reduced by 62.5%, 58.3% and 50.0%, respectively, compared with untreated control.