Responses of Anguina agrostis to Detergent and Anesthetic Treatment

The infective dauer juvenile (DJ2) of Anguina agrostis, a stage capable of surviving desiccation, is up to sixfold more resistant to the detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate than are freshly hatched juveniles or adult males, and twofold more resistant to the anesthetic phenoxypropanol. Thus, the DJ2, like dauer stages of other species, may also be more resistant to various types of environmental stress in its natural habitat. In A. agrostis, however, resistance appears to be acquired gradually during development of the second juvenile stage, rather than during a molt.