Differential gene expression after osmotic induction in various species of entomopathogenic nematodes

The expression patterns of fat-2 and sod-2 after osmotic induction were studied in four species of EPN, Steinernema carpocapsae, S. loci, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and H. indica, which represented a good and a weak desiccation tolerant species from each genus, respectively. The expression of fat-2 was significantly different between the four species. It was down-regulated in H. bacteriophora but was up-regulated in the other three species. The expression of sod-2 was not significantly different between the four species, with an increase in the expression level of 1.6 to 2.0 fold. The possible mechanism of responses of these genes is discussed.