Abstract
Furfural acetone (FAc) is a promising alternative to currently available nematicides, and it exhibits equivalent control efficiency on root-knot nematodes with avermectin in fields. However, its effect on the reproduction of root-knot nematode is poorly understood. In this study, the natural metabolite FAc was found to exhibit reproductive toxicity on Meloidogyne incognita and Caenorhabditis elegans. The number of germ cells of C. elegans was observed to decrease after exposure to FAc, with a reduction of 59.9% at a dose of 200 mg/L. FAc in various concentrations induced the germ-cell apoptosis of C. elegans, with an increase over six-fold in the number of apoptotic germ cells at 200 mg/L. These findings suggested that FAc decreased the brood size of nematode by inducing germ-cell apoptosis. Moreover, FAc-induced germ-cell apoptosis was suppressed by the mutation of gene hus-1, clk-2, cep-1, egl-1, ced-3, ced-4, or ced-9. The expression of genes spo-11, cep-1, and egl-1 in C. elegans was increased significantly after FAc treatment. Taken together, these results indicate that nematode exposure to FAc might inflict DNA damage through protein SPO-11, activate CEP-1 and EGL-1, and induce the core apoptosis pathway to cause germ-cell apoptosis, resulting in decreased brood size of C. elegans.
Highlights
Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are a category of the most serious plant parasites and include over 4100 different species [1]
The expression of genes spo-11, cep-1, and egl-1 significantly increased after treatment with Furfural acetone (FAc) compared with the control (Figure 5B). These results suggested that nematode exposure to FAc might inflict DNA damage through protein SPO-11, and activate the DNA damage checkpoint protein HUS1 or CLK-2, CEP-1, and EGL-1 in turn, thereby causing germ-cell apoptosis by inducing the core apoptosis pathway
root-knot nematodes (RKNs) are considered as pests of primary importance in agriculture, and the most damaging nematode group in the world [2,41]
Summary
Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are a category of the most serious plant parasites and include over 4100 different species [1]. PPNs infect the plant host by using their stylets or mouth spears, and affect the nutrient absorption and growth of crops, resulting in serious reduction in crop production and threatening the global food security [2]. Diseases caused by PPNs result in more than USD 150 billion in economic losses worldwide each year [3], and more than half of the economic losses are due to root-knot nematodes (RKNs) [4]. RKNs are considered to be one of the most damaging nematode groups since they can infect most of cultivated plant species in the world [5]. RKNs have strong reproductive ability; a mature female can lay up to 1000 eggs in an egg mass [2]. The characteristic of large brood size confers difficulty in controlling RKNs
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