Enhanced cold tolerance of the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema feltiae through genetic selection

Cold sensitivity of entomopathogenic nematodes severely restricts their biological control potential in some environments. We selected the SN strain of Steinernema feltiae together with its bacterial symbiont, Xenorhabdus bovenii, for improved cold tolerance by repeated passage through the wax moth Galleria mellonella larvae at 15°C. Nematode virulence (total insect mortality and speed of kill) and establishment (initiation of nematode development following penetration) were evaluated after six (= 12–24 generations) and 12 passages (= 24–36 generations). Cold selection enhanced nematode virulence at the cooler temperatures. Virulence measured as total insect-mortality at 8°C improved by 5.3- and 6.6-fold after six and 12 passages, respectively. Only small improvements (1.2–1.5-fold) were observed in speed of kill. Nematode establishment improved at all temperatures after 12 passages; the highest increase of 9-fold was observed at 8°C. Our results lend support to the hypotheses that functional traits along a continuously distributed environmental variable are genetically correlated and that the area under the fitness function is not always constant. Trade-offs in percentage mortality and speed of kill by the selected nematodes were observed at the warmer extreme after six passages of selection only. The implications of rapid changes in thermal sensitivity for economic mass-production of nematodes are discussed.