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. 2020 May;43(5):1160-1174.
doi: 10.1111/pce.13728. Epub 2020 Feb 27.

Host factors influence the sex of nematodes parasitizing roots of Arabidopsis thaliana

Muhammad Shahzad Anjam  1 , Syed Jehangir Shah  1 , Christiane Matera  1 , Elżbieta Różańska  2 , Miroslaw Sobczak  2 , Shahid Siddique  1   3 , Florian M W Grundler  1
Affiliations
Free article

Host factors influence the sex of nematodes parasitizing roots of Arabidopsis thaliana

Muhammad Shahzad Anjam et al. Plant Cell Environ. 2020 May.
Free article

Abstract

Plant-parasitic cyst nematodes induce hypermetabolic syncytial nurse cells in the roots of their host plants. Syncytia are their only food source. Cyst nematodes are sexually dimorphic, with their differentiation into male or female strongly influenced by host environmental conditions. Under favourable conditions with plenty of nutrients, more females develop, whereas mainly male nematodes develop under adverse conditions such as in resistant plants. Here, we developed and validated a method to predict the sex of beet cyst nematode (Heterodera schachtii) during the early stages of its parasitism in the host plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We collected root segments containing male-associated syncytia (MAS) or female-associated syncytia (FAS), isolated syncytial cells by laser microdissection, and performed a comparative transcriptome analysis. Genes belonging to categories of defence, nutrient deficiency, and nutrient starvation were over-represented in MAS as compared with FAS. Conversely, gene categories related to metabolism, modification, and biosynthesis of cell walls were over-represented in FAS. We used β-glucuronidase analysis, qRT-PCR, and loss-of-function mutants to characterize FAS- and MAS-specific candidate genes. Our results demonstrate that various plant-based factors, including immune response, nutrient availability, and structural modifications, influence the sexual fate of the cyst nematodes.

Keywords: cyst nematodes; environmental sex determination; host-plant interaction; plant-nematode interaction.

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References

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