Correlations among methods to estimate lipid reserves of second-stage juveniles and its relationships with infectivity and reproduction of Meloidogyne incognita

Abstract

We studied the correlations between the processes used to estimate the body lipid of second-stage juveniles (J2) of Meloidogyne exigua and M. incognita, and the infectivity and reproduction of the M. incognita J2. The lipids were quantified by image analysis of the area stained red with Oil Red O dye and by the dark area of the non-stained J2. The content of neutral lipids of stained J2 of M. exigua and M. incognita correlated positively to the lipid index, body mass lipid and the dark area of J2. The period of incubation of J2 decreased the neutral lipids content and correlated significantly with the reductions of infectivity and reproduction. The period of 6 days incubation of M. incognita resulted in losses of more than 50% of the neutral lipid content, representing the threshold period for infectivity on tomato, whereas, for reproduction, the threshold was 3 days incubation.