In vitro assessment of the influence of nutrition and temperature on growing rates of five Duddingtonia flagrans isolates, their insecticidal properties and ability to impair Heligmosomoides polygyrus motility.

Diverse effects of two temperature regimes (20 and 30 degrees C) on the growing rates of five Duddingtonia flagrans isolates (MUCL 28429, CBS 143.83, CBS 561.92, CBS 565.50, and CBS 583.91) propagated on two liquid (MM, LB) and four solid substrates (CMA, SAB, SAB-GM, and SAB-HP) were observed. All D. flagrans isolates were able to produce chlamydospores but not on all substrates. None of the isolates produced trapping nets and conidia under applied growing conditions. D. flagrans isolates showed moderate insecticidal properties against Galleria mellonella larvae with mortality rates below 20%. Preincubation (18 h) of Heligmosomoides polygyrus infective (L3) larvae in fungal homogenates highly impaired in vitro spontaneous motility of nematodes. This may indicate the potential of D. flagrans bioactive substance(s) for use as biocontrol agents of parasitic nematodes.