Abstract
Plant parasitic nematodes, including the beet cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii, constitute a devastating problem for crops worldwide. The limited availability of sustainable management options illustrates the need for new eco-friendly control means. Plant metabolites represent an invaluable source of active compounds for the discovery of such novel antagonistic agents. Here, we evaluated the impact of eight plant terpenoids on the H. schachtii parasitism of Arabidopsis thaliana. None of the metabolites affected the plant development (5 or 10 ppm). Nootkatone decreased the number of adult nematodes on A. thaliana to 50%, with the female nematodes being smaller compared to the control. In contrast, three other terpenoids increased the parasitism and/or female size. We discovered that nootkatone considerably decreased the number of nematodes that penetrated A. thaliana roots, but neither affected the nematode viability or attraction to plant roots, nor triggered the production of plant reactive oxygen species or changed the plant’s sesquiterpene profile. However, we demonstrated that nootkatone led to a significant upregulation of defense-related genes involved in salicylic and jasmonic acid pathways. Our results indicate that nootkatone is a promising candidate to be developed into a novel plant protection agent acting as a stimulator of plant immunity against parasitic nematodes.
Highlights
Plant parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are a devastating problem to a wide range of crops worldwide [1]
The damage caused by PPNs was estimated to be more than 100 billion dollars per year worldwide, which is mainly caused by root knot nematodes (RKNs) and cyst nematodes (CNs) [2]
We first investigated the impact of the terpenoids (Figure 1) on Arabidopsis growth, as it is mThaenrdeafotorery, tthoewpolarnktwciuthltuarcinogmmpoeudniudmcowncaesnsturaptpiolenmthenatteids nweuitthra1l0orpppmosiotifvtehfeorchpolasnent dneavtuelroapl mpleanntt
Summary
Plant parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are a devastating problem to a wide range of crops worldwide [1]. The effectiveness of crop rotation is limited though in some cropping systems because of the wide host range or long-term survival of CNs. the occurrence of virulent and resistance-breaking H. schachtii populations jeopardize the efficacy of using resistant crops [9]. Carvacrol, thymol, nerolidol, α-terpinene, geraniol, citronellol, farnesol, limonene, pseudoionone and eugenol were shown to have nematocidal activities against the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans [19] Such reports demonstrate the potential of terpenoids as a source of nematicides. We used as a selection of structurally diverse compounds the sesquiterpenes (−)-caryophyllene oxide, (+)-nootkatone and zerumbone and the triterpenes α-amyrin, β-amyrin and taraxasterol acetate, as well as apocarotenoid crocetin dialdehyde and the natural constituents of saffron stigma Those metabolites occur in edible plants such as basil, citrus, ginger, tomato, dandelion and saffron. Exploring the tremendous range of natural compounds will help identifying molecules for novel environmentally friendly solutions in agricultural management strategies and expand our knowledge on interaction mechanisms
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