Research interests
Chemical and behavioural ecology of entomopathogenic nematodes.
Annotation of the dissertation
In the EU, as in most other parts of the world, chemical insecticides are starting to be restricted or banned. This creates a strong need to find alternatives for the control of economically important insect pests. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are insect parasitic nematodes that are increasingly being used worldwide as an environmentally friendly biological control method for agricultural pests. Despite the applicability of EPNs, there are a number of questions relating to their biology and ecology, distribution and diversity, which are important for the effectiveness of the application.
During the doctoral studies, the species composition and diversity of EPNs and their symbiotic bacteria in the main Lithuanian soil types will be investigated. By studying the most abundant species, it is expected to isolate and identify new bioactive chemical compounds affecting the behaviour of EPNs. These compounds could serve as targets for breeding or genetic modifications of crop plants which could be used in developing new environmentally friendly insect pest control products.
International scientific conferences:
- Tiškevičiūtė D., Čepulytė R., Būda V., 2023. Response of Entomopathogenic Nematode Steinernema feltiae to 1-Nonene, the Volatile of Insect Cadavers, Open Readings 2023, 370 p.
- Čepulytė R., Tiškevičiūtė D., Būda V., 2023. 1-Nonene as Putative Apneumone in EPN Steinernema feltiae Larval Cadaver Interaction. 38th Annual Conference of the International Society of Chemical Ecology Bangalore 23–27 July 2023. 54 p.