Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Space

Authors: Shapiro Ilan, David; KAPLAN, FATMA - Pheronym, Inc

Submitted to: Society of Invertebrate Pathology Newsletter
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/29/2019
Publication Date: 6/5/2019
Citation: Shapiro Ilan, D.I., Kaplan, F. 2019. Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Space. Society of Invertebrate Pathology Newsletter. 52(2):13.

Interpretive Summary: Fatma Kaplan, CEO of Pheronym Inc. (and Project Director) and USDA-ARS Research Entomologist, David Shapiro-Ilan, (co-project director) will have an experiment conducted on the International Space Station. The experiment will test the movement and infection behavior and analyze dispersal pheromone production of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs). Kaplan and Shapiro-Ilan have conducted numerous studies nematode foraging behavior and now they will get a chance to do so under microgravity conditions. For example, Shapiro-Ilan, Kaplan and others previously discovered that EPNs move through soil in groups like a pack of wolves, use pheromones for their emergence out of the consumed host cadavers. Recently, they published a paper showing that EPN pheromones can greatly stimulate nematode dispersal and infectivity and thereby enhancing biocontrol efficacy (J. Invertebr. Pathol. 164, 38–42). The mission to space will offer a novel perspective on pheromone production and provide new insights into nematode behavior; the unique microgravity environment will allow us to explore fundamental mechanisms in parasitism and pathogenesis. We have a number of exciting questions to address in these experiments. Will EPNs be able to navigate through soil and infect insects in microgravity? Will their symbiotic bacteria function normally? Will the nematodes be able to reproduce and emerge? Will the impact on insect host physiology be the same compared with what is observed on earth? To address these questions, sealed soil columns containing nematodes and a model target pest (waxworms, Galleria mellonella) will be sent into space for 30 days. Results will then be assessed once the nematodes return to earth. Control experiments with the same design will be conducted concurrently on earth for same duration. Beyond the fundamental questions on nematode behavior, the mission represents a look into the future where food crops will be grown in space. The goal is to develop environmentally friendly methods for space travel that are not harmful to humans. This will be the first agriculture biological control experiment in space.

Technical Abstract: Fatma Kaplan, CEO of Pheronym Inc. (and Project Director) and USDA-ARS Research Entomologist, David Shapiro-Ilan, (co-project director) will have an experiment conducted on the International Space Station. The experiment will test the movement and infection behavior and analyze dispersal pheromone production of entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernema and Heterorhabditis spp., known as EPNs). Kaplan and Shapiro-Ilan have conducted numerous studies nematode foraging behavior and now they will get a chance to do so under microgravity conditions. For example, Shapiro-Ilan, Kaplan and others previously discovered that EPNs move through soil in groups like a pack of wolves, use pheromones for their emergence out of the consumed host cadavers. Recently, they published a paper showing that EPN pheromones can greatly stimulate nematode dispersal and infectivity and thereby enhancing biocontrol efficacy (J. Invertebr. Pathol. 164, 38–42). The mission to space will offer a novel perspective on pheromone production and provide new insights into nematode behavior; the unique microgravity environment will allow us to explore fundamental mechanisms in parasitism and pathogenesis. We have a number of exciting questions to address in these experiments. Will EPNs be able to navigate through soil and infect insects in microgravity? Will their symbiotic bacteria function normally? Will the nematodes be able to reproduce and emerge? Will the impact on insect host physiology be the same compared with what is observed on earth? To address these questions, sealed soil columns containing nematodes and a model target pest (waxworms, Galleria mellonella) will be sent into space for 30 days. Results will then be assessed once the nematodes return to earth. Control experiments with the same design will be conducted concurrently on earth for same duration. Beyond the fundamental questions on nematode behavior, the mission represents a look into the future where food crops will be grown in space. The goal is to develop environmentally friendly methods for space travel that are not harmful to humans. This will be the first agriculture biological control experiment in space.