Nematology
Encyclopedia
Nematology is the scientific discipline concerned with the study of nematode
s, or roundworms. Although nematological investigation dates back to the days of Aristotle
or even earlier, nematology as an independent discipline has its recognizable beginnings in the mid to late 19th century.
in the Bible, in the Fourth Book of Moses called Numbers: “And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died”. Although no empirical data exists to test the hypothesis, many nematologists assume and circumstantial evidence suggests the “fiery serpents” to be the Guinea worm, Dracunculus medinensis
, as this nematode is known to inhabit the region near the Red Sea
.
Before 1750, a large number of nematode observations were recorded, many by the notable great minds of ancient civilization. Hippocrates
(ca. 420 B.C.), Aristotle
(ca. 350 B.C.), Celsus (ca 10 B.C.), Galen
(ca. 180 A.D.) and Redi (1684) all described nematodes parasitizing humans or other large animals and birds. Borellus (1653) was the first to observe and describe a free-living nematode, which he dubbed the “vinegar eel;” and Tyson (1683) used a crude microscope to describe the rough anatomy of the human intestinal roundworm, Ascaris lumbricoides
.
Other well-known microscopists spent time observing and describing free-living and animal-parasitic nematodes: Hooke (1683), Leeuwenhoek (1722), Needham (1743), and Spallanzani (1769) are among these. Observations and descriptions of plant parasitic nematodes, which were less conspicuous to ancient scientists, didn’t receive as much or as early attention as did animal parasites. The earliest allusion to a plant parasitic nematode is, however, preserved in famous writ. “Sowed cockle, reap’d no corn,” a line by William Shakespeare
penned in 1594 in Love Labour's Lost', Act IV, Scene 3, most certainly has reference to blighted wheat caused by the plant parasite, Anguina tritici
.
Needham (1743) solved the “riddle of cockle” when he crushed one of the diseased wheat grains and observed “Aquatic Animals…denominated Worms, Eels, or Serpents, which they very much resemble.” It is likely that few or no other recorded observations of plant parasitic nematodes or their effects are to be found in ancient literature.
From 1750 to the early 1900’s, nematology research continued to be descriptive and taxonomic, focusing primarily on free-living nematodes and plant and animal parasites. During this period a number of productive researchers contributed to the field of nematology in the United States and abroad. Beginning with Needham and continuing to Cobb, nematologists compiled and continuously revised a broad descriptive morphological taxonomy of nematodes.
to control nematodes, applying carbon disulfide
treatments in sugar beet fields in Germany. In Europe from 1870 to 1910, nematological research focused heavily on controlling the sugar beet nematode as sugar beet production became an important economy during this time in the Old World.
Although 18th and 19th century scientists yielded a considerable amount of important fundamental and applied knowledge about nematode biology, nematology research really began to advance in quality and quantity near the turn of the 20th century. In 1918, the first permanent nematology field station was constructed in the U.S. Post Office in Salt Lake City, Utah under the direction of Harry B. Shaw, after scientists observed the sugar beet nematode in a field south of the city. In this same year, Nathan Cobb
(1918) published his Contributions to a Science of Nematology and his lab manual “Estimating the Nema Population of Soil.” These two publications provide definitive resources for many methods and apparatus used in nematology even to this day.
Of Cobb’s far-reaching influence on nematology research, Jenkins and Taylor write:
Perhaps no one person has had as favorable an impact on the field of nematology as has Nathan Augustus Cobb.
From 1900-1925 various state-run agricultural experimental stations investigated important problems relating to agro-economy, though few stations devoted much attention to plant-parasitic nematodes. Accounts of the history of nematology (the few that exist) mention three major events occurring between 1926 and 1950 that affected the relative importance of nematodes in the eyes of farmers, legislators and the U.S. public in general. These same events had profound worldwide effects on the course of nematology research over the next fifty to seventy-five years
First, the discovery of the golden nematode in the potato fields of Long Island led to a trip by U.S. quarantine officials to the potato fields of Europe, where the devastating effects of this parasite had been known for many years. This excursion allayed all skepticism about the seriousness of this agricultural pest. Second, the introduction of the soil fumigants, D-D and EDB made available for the first time nematicides that could be used effectively and practically on a field scale. Third, the development of nematode-resistant crop cultivars brought substantial government funding to applied nematology research.
These events contributed to a shift from broad taxonomy-based nematology research to deep, yet focused investigations of plant parasitic nematodes, especially the control of agricultural pests. From the early 1930’s until recently, the bulk of researchers studying nematodes have been plant pathologists by training. Consequently, nematological research leaned heavily toward answering plant pathological and agro-economical questions for the last three-quarters of the 20th century.
Australian Association of Nematologists (AAN)
Brazilian Nematological Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Nematologia) (SBN)
Chinese Society of Plant Nematologists (CSPN)
Egyptian Society of Agricultural Nematology (ESAN)
International Federation of Nematology Societies (IFNS)
Italian Society of Nematologists (Societa Italiana di Nematologia) (SIN)
Japanese Nematological Society (JNS)
Nematological Society of India (NSI)
Nematological Society of Southern Africa (Nematologiese Vereniging van Suidelike Afrika) (NSSA)
Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America (ONTA)
Pakistan Society of Nematologists (PSN)
Russian Society of Nematologists (RSN)
Society of Nematologists (SON)
International Journal of Nematology (ASSN)
Nematologia Brasileira (SBN)
Journal of Nematology (SON)
Nematology Newsletter (SON)
The Egyptian Journal of Agronematology (ESAN)
Egyptian Society of Agricultural Nematology Newsletter (ESAN)
Nematology News (ESN)
Nematologia Mediterranea (Istituto di Nematologia Agraria of the C.N.R.)
Japanese Journal of Nematology (JSN)
Indian Journal of Nematology (NSI)
African Plant Protection (NSSA)
Nematropica (ONTA)
Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America Newsletter (ONTA)
Pakistan Journal of Nematology (PSN)
Pakistan Society of Nematologists Newsletter (PSN)
Russian Journal of Nematology (RSN)
Nematologica (Brill Academic Publishers)
Nematology (Brill Academic Publishers)
Butschli (1875) first observed the formation of polar bodies by nuclear subdivision in a nematode, Beneden (1883) was studying Ascaris megalocephala when he discovered the separation of halves of each of the chromosome
s from the two parents and the mechanism of Mendelian heredity, and Boveri (1893) showed evidence for continuity of the germ plasm and that the soma may be regarded as a by-product without influence upon heredity.
Nematode
The nematodes or roundworms are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number of nematode...
s, or roundworms. Although nematological investigation dates back to the days of Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
or even earlier, nematology as an independent discipline has its recognizable beginnings in the mid to late 19th century.
History of Nematology: Pre-1850
Nematology research, like most fields of science, has its foundations in observations and the recording of these obvs. The earliest written account of a nematode “sighting,” as it were, may be found in the Pentateuch of the Old TestamentOld Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
in the Bible, in the Fourth Book of Moses called Numbers: “And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died”. Although no empirical data exists to test the hypothesis, many nematologists assume and circumstantial evidence suggests the “fiery serpents” to be the Guinea worm, Dracunculus medinensis
Dracunculus medinensis
Dracunculus medinensis is a nematode that causes dracunculiasis.Dracunculiasis, also known as Guinea worm disease, is caused by the large female nematode, Dracunculus medinensis, which is among the longest nematodes infecting humans. The adult female is primarily larger than the adult male. The...
, as this nematode is known to inhabit the region near the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
.
Before 1750, a large number of nematode observations were recorded, many by the notable great minds of ancient civilization. Hippocrates
Hippocrates
Hippocrates of Cos or Hippokrates of Kos was an ancient Greek physician of the Age of Pericles , and is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine...
(ca. 420 B.C.), Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
(ca. 350 B.C.), Celsus (ca 10 B.C.), Galen
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamon , was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher...
(ca. 180 A.D.) and Redi (1684) all described nematodes parasitizing humans or other large animals and birds. Borellus (1653) was the first to observe and describe a free-living nematode, which he dubbed the “vinegar eel;” and Tyson (1683) used a crude microscope to describe the rough anatomy of the human intestinal roundworm, Ascaris lumbricoides
Ascaris lumbricoides
Ascaris lumbricoides is the giant roundworm of humans, belonging to the phylum Nematoda. An ascarid nematode, it is responsible for the disease ascariasis in humans, and it is the largest and most common parasitic worm in humans. One-sixth of the human population is estimated to be infected by this...
.
Other well-known microscopists spent time observing and describing free-living and animal-parasitic nematodes: Hooke (1683), Leeuwenhoek (1722), Needham (1743), and Spallanzani (1769) are among these. Observations and descriptions of plant parasitic nematodes, which were less conspicuous to ancient scientists, didn’t receive as much or as early attention as did animal parasites. The earliest allusion to a plant parasitic nematode is, however, preserved in famous writ. “Sowed cockle, reap’d no corn,” a line by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
penned in 1594 in Love Labour's Lost', Act IV, Scene 3, most certainly has reference to blighted wheat caused by the plant parasite, Anguina tritici
Anguina tritici
Anguina tritici is a plant pathogenic nematode.- History and significance :Anguina tritici was the first plant parasitic nematode to be described in the...
.
Needham (1743) solved the “riddle of cockle” when he crushed one of the diseased wheat grains and observed “Aquatic Animals…denominated Worms, Eels, or Serpents, which they very much resemble.” It is likely that few or no other recorded observations of plant parasitic nematodes or their effects are to be found in ancient literature.
From 1750 to the early 1900’s, nematology research continued to be descriptive and taxonomic, focusing primarily on free-living nematodes and plant and animal parasites. During this period a number of productive researchers contributed to the field of nematology in the United States and abroad. Beginning with Needham and continuing to Cobb, nematologists compiled and continuously revised a broad descriptive morphological taxonomy of nematodes.
History of Nematology: 1850 to the Present
Kuhn (1874) is thought to be the first to use soil fumigationFumigation
Fumigation is a method of pest control that completely fills an area with gaseous pesticides—or fumigants—to suffocate or poison the pests within. It is utilized for control of pests in buildings , soil, grain, and produce, and is also used during processing of goods to be imported or...
to control nematodes, applying carbon disulfide
Carbon disulfide
Carbon disulfide is a colorless volatile liquid with the formula CS2. The compound is used frequently as a building block in organic chemistry as well as an industrial and chemical non-polar solvent...
treatments in sugar beet fields in Germany. In Europe from 1870 to 1910, nematological research focused heavily on controlling the sugar beet nematode as sugar beet production became an important economy during this time in the Old World.
Although 18th and 19th century scientists yielded a considerable amount of important fundamental and applied knowledge about nematode biology, nematology research really began to advance in quality and quantity near the turn of the 20th century. In 1918, the first permanent nematology field station was constructed in the U.S. Post Office in Salt Lake City, Utah under the direction of Harry B. Shaw, after scientists observed the sugar beet nematode in a field south of the city. In this same year, Nathan Cobb
Nathan Cobb
Nathan Augustus Cobb is known as "the father of nematology in the United States".He provided the foundations for nematode taxonomy and described over 1000 different nematode species...
(1918) published his Contributions to a Science of Nematology and his lab manual “Estimating the Nema Population of Soil.” These two publications provide definitive resources for many methods and apparatus used in nematology even to this day.
Of Cobb’s far-reaching influence on nematology research, Jenkins and Taylor write:
- Although many workers have played important roles in development of plant nematology, none have had a greater impact, particularly in the United States, than N.A. Cobb. In 1913 Cobb published his first paper on nematology in the United States. From [1913] to 1932 he was the undisputed leader in [nematology] in this country. Through his efforts the widely renowned [USDA] nematology research program was initiated and developed. Many of his students and colleagues developed into the leaders in plant nematology in the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s. In addition, during his productive career he contributed major discoveries in the areas of nematode taxonomy, morphology, and in methodology. Many of his techniques are still unsurpassed!
Perhaps no one person has had as favorable an impact on the field of nematology as has Nathan Augustus Cobb.
From 1900-1925 various state-run agricultural experimental stations investigated important problems relating to agro-economy, though few stations devoted much attention to plant-parasitic nematodes. Accounts of the history of nematology (the few that exist) mention three major events occurring between 1926 and 1950 that affected the relative importance of nematodes in the eyes of farmers, legislators and the U.S. public in general. These same events had profound worldwide effects on the course of nematology research over the next fifty to seventy-five years
First, the discovery of the golden nematode in the potato fields of Long Island led to a trip by U.S. quarantine officials to the potato fields of Europe, where the devastating effects of this parasite had been known for many years. This excursion allayed all skepticism about the seriousness of this agricultural pest. Second, the introduction of the soil fumigants, D-D and EDB made available for the first time nematicides that could be used effectively and practically on a field scale. Third, the development of nematode-resistant crop cultivars brought substantial government funding to applied nematology research.
These events contributed to a shift from broad taxonomy-based nematology research to deep, yet focused investigations of plant parasitic nematodes, especially the control of agricultural pests. From the early 1930’s until recently, the bulk of researchers studying nematodes have been plant pathologists by training. Consequently, nematological research leaned heavily toward answering plant pathological and agro-economical questions for the last three-quarters of the 20th century.
Nematological Societies and Federations
Afro-Asian Society of Nematologists (AASN)Australian Association of Nematologists (AAN)
Brazilian Nematological Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Nematologia) (SBN)
Chinese Society of Plant Nematologists (CSPN)
Egyptian Society of Agricultural Nematology (ESAN)
International Federation of Nematology Societies (IFNS)
Italian Society of Nematologists (Societa Italiana di Nematologia) (SIN)
Japanese Nematological Society (JNS)
Nematological Society of India (NSI)
Nematological Society of Southern Africa (Nematologiese Vereniging van Suidelike Afrika) (NSSA)
Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America (ONTA)
Pakistan Society of Nematologists (PSN)
Russian Society of Nematologists (RSN)
Society of Nematologists (SON)
Nematology Journals and Other Publications (Publishing Society or Organization)
Asian Journal of Nematology (AJN)International Journal of Nematology (ASSN)
Nematologia Brasileira (SBN)
Journal of Nematology (SON)
Nematology Newsletter (SON)
The Egyptian Journal of Agronematology (ESAN)
Egyptian Society of Agricultural Nematology Newsletter (ESAN)
Nematology News (ESN)
Nematologia Mediterranea (Istituto di Nematologia Agraria of the C.N.R.)
Japanese Journal of Nematology (JSN)
Indian Journal of Nematology (NSI)
African Plant Protection (NSSA)
Nematropica (ONTA)
Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America Newsletter (ONTA)
Pakistan Journal of Nematology (PSN)
Pakistan Society of Nematologists Newsletter (PSN)
Russian Journal of Nematology (RSN)
Nematologica (Brill Academic Publishers)
Nematology (Brill Academic Publishers)
Contributions of Nematology to Other Sciences
Nematologists in the 1800s also contributed to other scientific fields in important ways.Butschli (1875) first observed the formation of polar bodies by nuclear subdivision in a nematode, Beneden (1883) was studying Ascaris megalocephala when he discovered the separation of halves of each of the chromosome
Chromosome
A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...
s from the two parents and the mechanism of Mendelian heredity, and Boveri (1893) showed evidence for continuity of the germ plasm and that the soma may be regarded as a by-product without influence upon heredity.
External links
Academic Institutions- Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of FloridaUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
— Graduate Studies - The Nematology and Entomology Research Group at the Harper Adams University CollegeHarper Adams University CollegeHarper Adams University College is a higher education institution located close to the village of Edgmond , in Shropshire, England. It is the UK's leading specialist provider of higher education for the agri-food chain and rural sector....