The infection of plants by obligate parasitic nematodes constitutes an interesting model for investigating plant cytoskeleton functions. Root knot nematodes have evolved the ability to manipulate host functions to their own advantage by redifferentiating root cells into multinucleate and hypertrophied feeding cells. These giant cells result from repeated rounds of karyokinesis without cell divi...

Interactions between root-knot nematodes and viruses were recently reviewed by Taylor (4). Compared to virus-free cowpea (vigna sinensis Endl.), cowpea mosaic virus-infected plants formed fewer galls on roots in response to infection by Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood (2). On the other hand, tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum L.) infected with tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV) and ...

The soil fumigant 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) formulated with chloropicrin is viewed as a likely alternative for replacing methyl bromide in Florida when the latter is phased out in 2005. Therefore, it behooves us to learn more about using 1,3-D in deep, sand soils. Two trials were conducted on spring squash to determine the most effective rate of 1,3-D for the control of Meloidogyne spp. Rates...

Jasmonic acid (JA) is a plant hormone that plays important roles in regulating plant defenses against necrotrophic pathogens and herbivorous insects, but the role of JA in mediating the plant responses to root-knot nematodes has been unclear. Here we show that an application of either methyl jasmonate (MeJA) or the JA-mimic coronatine (COR) on Arabidopsis significantly reduced the number of gal...

SUMMARY Transgenic tobacco and Arabidopsis thaliana carrying the Arabidopsis endo-1,4-beta-glucanase (EC 3.2.1.4) Cel1 promoter fused to the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene were infected with the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, and either the tobacco cyst nematode, Globodera tabacum (tobacco), or beet cyst nematode, Heterodera schachtii (Arabidopsis). Cel1-driven GUS expressio...

Sedentary plant-parasitic nematodes are able to induce the redifferentiation of root cells into multinucleate nematode feeding sites (NFSs). We have isolated by promoter trapping an Arabidopsis thaliana gene that is essential for the early steps of NFS formation induced by the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. Its pattern of expression is similar to that of key regulators of the cell cy...

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne incognita) cause substantial yield losses in vegetables worldwide, and are difficult to manage. Continuous withdrawal of environmentally-harmful nematicides from the global market warrants the need for novel nematode management strategies. Utility of host-delivered RNAi has been demonstrated in several plants (Arabidopsis, tobacco, and soybean) that exhibited re...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Knowledge of host factors affecting plant-nematode interactions is scarce. Here, relevant interaction phenotypes between a nodulating model host, Lotus japonicus, and the endoparasitic root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita are assessed via a genetic screen. METHODS Within an alpha experimental design, 4-week-old replicate plants from 60 L. japonicus ecotypes were inocul...