Study
Nematode-trapping fungi
Pramer, David
Science, 1964
Reviews the trapping structures produced by soil fungi that capture nematodes, describing adhesive networks, adhesive knobs, non-constricting rings and constricting rings, and the conditions under which each is formed.
- Studied in
- Fungi, Nematoda
- Sample size
- review of trapping structures across fungal species
Several unrelated soil fungi produce specialised structures for capturing nematodes. Trap formation is generally induced rather than constitutive, and constricting rings close on a captured worm within a fraction of a second by rapid cell inflation.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
These fungi are genuine predators, with structures dedicated to capture rather than to absorption of already-dead material.
How NatureHQ reads it
The record that establishes fungal predation as predation rather than as opportunistic feeding. It also supplies the detail that makes the subject arresting: a ring of three cells that inflates fast enough to hold a struggling worm, in an organism with no muscle and no nervous system.
- A 1964 review; the molecular basis of trap formation was established much later.
- Laboratory culture, where the fungi are grown on plates rather than in soil.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: American Association for the Advancement of SciencePublished in Science or Science Advances (AAAS).
doi.org/10.1126/science.144.3617.382
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.