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Title: SCREENING FOR POTENTIAL BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS OF SOYBEAN CYST AND ROOT-KNOT NEMATODES

Author
item Nitao, James
item Meyer, Susan
item Chitwood, David

Submitted to: BARC Poster Day
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/19/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The soybean cyst nematode Heterodera glycines and the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita are major pests of crops worldwide. Previous research has indicated that a mutant soil fungus, Verticillium lecanii, secretes a nematode-antagonistic compound or compounds. Assay techniques were developed to detect the production of fungal metabolites inhibiting egg hatch. Nematodes were cultured on plants grown in the greenhouse, and eggs were collected from roots and soil. A simple method to surface sterilize eggs with sodium hypochlorite was developed. Previous methods either inadequately sterilized the eggs for assay in fungal growth media or required use of mercuric chloride, a health and environmental hazard. Eggs were placed directly in fungal culture broths that were sterile filtered prior to testing to preclude parasitism by the fungus. Egg hatch of soybean cyst nematode was affected by the fungal growth media alone, affecting the sensitivity of this assay. Preliminary tests using similar techniques with root-knot nematode have detected a Fusarium species that secretes metabolites inhibiting egg hatch.