Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Pathogen Interactions
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1497575
This article is part of the Research Topic Sustainable Plant-Based Strategies for Managing Plant-Parasitic Nematodes View all articles

Pochonia chlamydosporia synergistically supports systemic plant defense response in Phacelia tanacetifolia against Meloidogyne hapla

Provisionally accepted
Jana Könker Jana Könker 1,2*Sanja Kristin Zenker Sanja Kristin Zenker 3,4Anja Meierhenrich Anja Meierhenrich 3,4Anant Patel Anant Patel 2Karl-Josef Dietz Karl-Josef Dietz 1,4
  • 1 Plant Biochemistry and Physiology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
  • 2 WG Fermentation and Formulation of Biologicals and Chemicals, Hochschule Bielefeld - University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Bielefeld, Germany
  • 3 Computational Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
  • 4 Bielefeld University, Center of Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The network of antagonistic, neutral, and synergistic interactions between (micro)organisms has moved into the focus of current research, since in agriculture, this knowledge can help to develop efficient biocontrol strategies. Applying the nematophagous fungus Pochonia chlamydosporia as biocontrol agent to manage the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne hapla is a highly promising strategy.To gain new insight into the systemic response of plants to a plant-parasitic nematode and a nematophagous fungus, Phacelia was inoculated with M. hapla and/or P. chlamydosporia and subjected to transcriptome and metabolome analysis of leaves. While the metabolome proved quite stable except for the early time point of 48 h, comparison of the single P. chlamydosporia with the combined treatment revealed even larger effects after 6 d compared to 48 h, aligning with the later root infestation by P. chlamydosporia compared to M. hapla. Simultaneous exposure to both microorganisms showedrevealed a stronger overlap with the single M. hapla treatment than P. chlamydosporia. Changes of transcripts and metabolites were higher in the combined treatment compared to the individual inoculations. The results support the conclusion that P. chlamydosporia induces plant defense in a distinct and beneficial manner if combined with M. hapla although plant defense is partly suppressed by the endophytic growth. The application of P. chlamydosporia as a biocontrol agent against M. hapla can be more effective by supporting these tri-trophic interactions with specific additives, such as phytohormones or amino acids in the formulation. 1 of environmentally harmful pesticides and at the same time assists in ensuring the agricultural food production that is needed for the increasing world population. A well-known example for such a biocontrol agent is the nematophagous fungus

    Keywords: plant defense, biotic stress, Synergistic effects, systemic plant response, biological control, Plant-parasitic nematodes

    Received: 17 Sep 2024; Accepted: 17 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Könker, Zenker, Meierhenrich, Patel and Dietz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jana Könker, Plant Biochemistry and Physiology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.