해충의 생물적 방제 인자로서 주목받고 있는 곤충병원선충(Steinernema carpocapsae)과 이들의 공생세균(Xenorhabdus nematophilus)이 유용곤충인 누에(Bombyx mori)와 그물등개미(Pristomyrmex pungens)에 상이한 독성을 보였다. S. carpocapsae는 누에에 대해 매우 높은 살충력(반수치사농도: 4IJs (감염태 유충수)/ml)을 보이는 반면, 그물등개미에 대해서는 매우 약했다. (반수치사농도: >150,000 IJs/ml). 반면에 X. nematophilus는 그물등개미에 대해 높은 경구독성(반수치사농도: $1.4$ imes$10^3$</TEX>cfu (콜로니 형성수)/ml)을 보였으나, 누에에 대해서는 낮았다. (반수치사농도: >$10^{8}$ cfu/ml). 또한 실험동물 랫드(Rattus norvegicus)에 S. carpocapsae와 X. nematophilus를 강제로 경구투여 한 결과 시험 전기간(21일)동안 치사개체는 없었으며, 내부 장기에서 처리한 공생세균과 선충은 발견되지 않았다.
Toxicological studies of two potential biological control agents, the entomopathogenic nematode (Steinernema carpocapsae) and the symbiotic bacteria (Xenorhabdus nematophilus) were conducted against two beneficial insects and one mammal species. Two microbial agents varied in their toxicities between two insect species: an ant, Pristomyrmex pungens, and silkworm, Bombyx mori. In oral toxicity test, the symbiotic bacteria resulted in significant lethal [half lethal concentration of $1.4$ imes$10^3$</TEX>colony-forming units (cfu)/ml] on the ants, while they gave little lethal effect (half lethal concentration of more than $10^{8}$ cfu/ml) on the silkworms. The nematodes, however, gave significant lethal effect [half lethal concentration of 4 infected juveniles (IJs)/ml] on the silkworms, while they did little lethal effect (half lethal concentration of 150,000 IJs/ml) on the ants in topical assays. Both the nematodes and the bacteria did not give lethal effect to the albino rats, Rattus norvegicus, when they were fed orally into the rats. Also, any of these microbial agents were not detected in the internal organs of the treated rats.
