Advances in understanding plant root response to nematode attack

Description

Plant parasitic nematodes are damaging pests on all crops grown across the world. They exploit plants using a range of strategies, ranging from simple browsing ectoparasitism to highly complex biotrophic endoparasites. Some nematodes induce the formation of complex feeding structures in the roots of their hosts that require extensive reprogramming of host gene expression. These changes include changes in fundamentally important plant processes, including the cell cycle. Natural resistance can be used to control plant nematodes, and great progress has been made in mapping and identifying resistance genes against nematodes. Recent work has shown that the dependence of nematodes on a feeding structure has allowed plants to evolve new mechanisms of resistance that target this structure with a toxic response.

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 Modes of parasitism 3 Plant-nematode interactions 4 Activation and suppression of plant defence responses 5 Resistance 6 Future trends 7 Where to look for further information 8 Acknowledgement 9 References