Electrophysiological responses of males of the potato cyst nematodes, Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida, to their sex pheromones

The response of individual adult males of the potato cyst nematodes, Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida, to sex pheromones from adult females was investigated using electrophysiological techniques. Each male nematode was pierced with an electrode close to the cephalic region and then exposed to pheromones from virgin females. Cellular responses in the form of action potentials were recorded as spike activity. The spike frequency produced by G. rostochiensis and G. pallida males increased significantly after the application of their homospecific pheromone. The spike frequency produced by G. pallida males also increased significantly after the application of G. rostochiensis female sex pheromone. In contrast, males of G. rostochiensis showed no significant response to G. pallida female sex pheromone. The electrophysiological results support and considerably extend information from agar plate behavioural bioassays.