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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #386340
Research Project: Development of Knowledge-based Approaches for Disease Management in Small Fruit and Nursery Crops

Location: Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Research Unit

Title: Impacts of non-fumigant nematicides on transcription in meloidogyne incognita biochemical pathways

Author
item Wram, Catherine
item Hesse, Cedar
item Zasada, Inga

Submitted to: Scientific Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/17/2022
Publication Date: 6/14/2022
Citation: Wram, C.L., Hesse, C.N., Zasada, I.A. 2022. Impacts of non-fumigant nematicides on transcription in meloidogyne incognita biochemical pathways. Scientific Reports. 12:9875. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14091-3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14091-3

Interpretive Summary: Plant-parasitic nematodes are microscopic soil worms that attack the roots of plants and cause significant loss in yield to this crop. Farmers lack reliable methods to reduce the impact of nematodes on plant productivity. In recent years, there have been new nematicides, chemicals that kill nematodes, that have become available for us by growers to manage plant-parasitic nematodes in a diversity of crop production systems. This research was conducted to evaluate the effects of these new nematicides on gene expression in the root-knot nematode. Results revealed differences in how nematodes respond to nematicides at the biochemical pathway level. An understanding of how nematodes respond to nematicides will help to promote proper stewardship, aid with nematicide discovery, and help to stay a step ahead of potential resistance.

Technical Abstract: Meloidogyne incognita is a destructive and economically important agricultural pest, and like other plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) management of this nematode relies heavily on chemical controls. As old, broad spectrum, and toxic nematicides leave the market, replacements have entered that include fluensulfone, fluazaindolizine, and fluopyram that are PPN specific in target and less toxic to applicators. However, there is limited research into their mode-of-actions and other off-target cellular effects caused by these nematicides in PPN. This study aimed to broaden the knowledge of about these new nematicides by examining the transcriptional changes in M. incognita second-stage juveniles (J2) after 24-hr exposure to fluensulfone, fluazaindolizine, and fluopyram in comparison with oxamyl, an older non-fumigant nematicide. Total RNA was extracted and sequenced using Illumina HiSeq to investigate transcriptional changes in the citric acid cycle, the glyoxylate pathway, ß-fatty acid oxidation pathway, oxidative phosphorylation, and acetylcholine neuron components. Observed transcriptional changes in M. incognita exposed to fluopyram and oxamyl orresponded to their respective modes-of-action. Potential targets for fluensulfone and fluazaindolizine were identified in the ß-fatty acid oxidation pathway and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase of the TCA cycle, respectively. The results found in this study provide a foundation for understanding how potential nematicide resistance could develop, provide cellular pathways as potential nematicide targets, and provide targets for confirming unknown modes-of-action.