| Title: | Root infection by the nematode Meloidogyne incognita modulates leaf antiherbivore defenses and plant resistance to Spodoptera exigua |
| Author(s): | Mbaluto CM; Vergara F; van Dam NM; Martinez-Medina A; |
| Address: | "Molecular Interaction Ecology, German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig; PuschStrasse 4, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich-Schiller-Universitat-Jena; DornburgerStrasse 159, 07743 Jena, Germany. Plant-Microorganism Interaction, Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Salamanca (IRNASA-CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40, 37008, Salamanca, Spain" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1460-2431 (Electronic) 0022-0957 (Print) 0022-0957 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Studies on plant-mediated interactions between root parasitic nematodes and aboveground herbivores are rapidly increasing. However, outcomes for the interacting organisms vary, and the mechanisms involved remain ambiguous. We hypothesized that the impact of root infection by the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita on the performance of the aboveground caterpillar Spodoptera exigua is modulated by the nematode's infection cycle. We challenged root-knot nematode-infected tomato plants with caterpillars when the nematode's infection cycle was at the invasion, galling, and reproduction stages. We found that M. incognita root infection enhanced S. exigua performance during the galling stage, while it did not affect the caterpillar's performance at the invasion and reproduction stages. Molecular and chemical analyses performed at the different stages of the nematode infection cycle revealed that M. incognita root infection systemically affected the jasmonic acid-, salicylic acid-, and abscisic acid-related responses, as well as the changes in the leaf metabolome triggered during S. exigua feeding. The M. incognita-induced leaf responses varied over the nematode's root infection cycle. These findings suggest that specific leaf responses triggered systemically by the nematode at its different life-cycle stages underlie the differential impact of M. incognita on plant resistance against the caterpillar S. exigua" |
| Keywords: | Animals *Solanum lycopersicum Plant Leaves Plant Roots Spodoptera *Tylenchoidea Meloidogyne incognita Spodoptera exigua Aboveground-belowground interactions phytohormones plant-mediated interactions root-knot nematode systemic induced responses untargeted; |
| Notes: | "MedlineMbaluto, Crispus M Vergara, Fredd van Dam, Nicole M Martinez-Medina, Ainhoa eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2021/09/22 J Exp Bot. 2021 Dec 4; 72(22):7909-7926. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erab370" |
