Author
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Masler, Edward |
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Submitted to: Nematology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 7/20/2014 Publication Date: 9/19/2014 Citation: Masler, E.P. 2014. Targeting internal processes of plant-parasitic nematodes in the pursuit of novel agents for their control. Nematology. 16(9):1001-1017. Interpretive Summary: Plant-parasitic nematodes attack all crops of agricultural importance, causing over $10 billion in losses annually to U.S. farmers. Because several chemical pesticides used to control nematodes have been withdrawn from use, growers possess a critical need for the discovery of environmentally and economically sound nematode control agents. One approach to discovering new ways to control nematodes is to identify ways to inhibit their infectivity and reproduction using naturally derived compounds and treatments. We have shown that selected plant metabolites can interfere with development and decrease infectivity of plant-parasitic nematodes, and advances in our understanding of how nematodes interact with their environment and with their infected plant hosts are presented. In addition, we discovered that the nematodes themselves contain small molecules which inhibit the activity of important metabolic enzymes. This inhibition is most pronounced when molecules of one species of nematode are used to treat a different nematode species. These discoveries are significant because they illustrate that metabolites from plants and highly specific inhibitor molecules from nematodes can act as natural suppression agents. Consequently, this information will be used by researchers in the agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology industries who are developing safe, selective methods for nematode control. Technical Abstract: The success of plant-parasitic nematodes as competitors with humans for crops is evidenced by the parasites' significant and continuous economic drain on global agriculture. Scientific efforts dedicated to the control of plant-parasitic nematodes employ strategies from the environmental to molecular levels. Understanding the interaction of the nematode with its environment, and the molecules involved, offers great promise for novel control agent development. Perhaps more significantly, such knowledge facilitates the generation of ever more detailed and sophisticated information on nematode biology and new molecular targets. Among the most economically important groups of plant-parasitic nematodes are those comprising the cyst-forming species and the root-knot nematodes. Presented here is a brief overview of research into the biology of these parasites relative to their life cycles. Recent advances in elucidating the molecular biology and biochemistry of nematode-plant interactions during the internal, parasitic stages of the life cycle have been driven by advances in genomics and transcriptomics. The remarkable discoveries regarding parasitism, and the application of genetic resources in these findings, provide a template for advanced investigation of external, survival stage biology. While survival biology research lags somewhat behind that of parasitism regarding the molecular genetics of signaling and response, its extensive catalog promises explosive rates of discovery as progress in genomics and transcriptomics allows a molecular genetic examination of embryogenesis, dormancy and hatching. Our group is interested in behaviour, development and hatching of cyst and root-knot nematodes, and the effects of the environment on the mechanisms of these activities. Phytochemical and temperature effects are discussed, and evidence is presented that the cyst may provide useful molecules for exploring nematode physiology. |
