Abstract
Slime mold species in the genus Dictyostelium are considered to have a close relationship with non-parasitic nematodes; they are sympatric in soils and can exhibit interspecific competition for food. We investigated whether this relationship extends to a plant-parasitic nematode that is active in the rhizosphere and has broad host specificity, damaging crops worldwide. Using a novel assay to examine the interaction between the cellular slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum, and the plant-parasitic nematodes, Meloidogyne spp., we found that cellular slime molds can repel plant parasitic nematodes. Specifically, the repulsion activity was in response to chemical compounds released by cellular slime mold fruiting bodies. Under laboratory conditions, these soluble chemical extracts from fruiting bodies of D. discoideum showed repulsion activity strong enough to protect plant roots. The fruiting body cell extracts repelled but were not toxic to the plant-parasitic nematodes.
Highlights
Cellular slime mold species in the genus Dictyostelium are soil microbes that feed on bacteria and yeasts
We focused on the relationship between D. discoideum and the plant-parasitic root-knot nematode, M. incognita, that damages crops worldwide
For the case of fruiting bodies, M. incognita preferentially moved toward Region 2 in the tester plate, which indicated a repulsion from D. discoideum fruiting bodies
Summary
Cellular slime mold species in the genus Dictyostelium are soil microbes that feed on bacteria and yeasts. These cellular slime molds have a unique two-stage life cycle, including a unicellular and a multi-cellular stage. Amoebic cells aggregate and transform into intermixed multi-cellular mounds, referred to as slugs, that differentiate into anterior prestalk and posterior prespore cells at random positions in the mound [1]. Slugs move toward the surface of the soil and complete cellular differentiation into the fruiting body, which form a spore head consisting of a mass of stress-resistant spores. There are several reports describing the interaction between slime mold species and bacteria [2,3,4]. The chemical compounds released from bacteria were identified as a predator defense mechanism [5,6,7]
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