Disruption of sex pheromone communication in a nematode.

Males of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, an intestinal parasite of rodents, were maintained in an environment permeated with pheromone produced by females of the species. After the males were removed from that environment, their subsequent ability to orient to a gradient of the pheromone emanating from living females was greatly reduced for periods up to 2 hours. This phenomenon might serve as the basis for a new, selective antihelminthic technique in which the premating communication between males and females is disrupted.