Use of calcofluor white to study the trapping of Pratylenchus coffeae by nematophagous fungi Arthrobotrys musiformis and Arthrobotrys oligospora

Pratylenchus coffeae is a migratory endoparasite of the root cortex and corm of Musa species and causes root lesions in coffee, sugarcane and citrus. Pratylenchus coffeae from diseased banana roots from Queensland were maintained in carrot jars for in vitro infection studies by nematophagous fungi. The aim of this work was to use a β-glucan specific fluorescent stain, calcofluor white, to study P. coffeae being trapped by two nematophagous fungal isolates Arthrobotrys musiformis and Arthrobotrys oligospora in vitro and determine whether the stain showed features of the nematode-fungal interaction that are not apparent using other observation techniques. These in vitro studies confirmed that when nematodes were stained after being trapped by these fungi, hyphae could be seen originating from the trapping device and growing within the bodies of the trapped nematodes. In addition, a putative fluorescence signal with calcofluor white was detected in the stylet and the pharyngeal region of P. coffeae suggesting the presence of β-glucan-like compound in these sites