Evidence that nematodes may vector the soft rot‐causing enterobacterial phytopathogens |
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| Authors: | J Nykyri X Fang F Dorati R Bakr M Pasanen O Niemi E T Palva R W Jackson M Pirhonen |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Agricultural Sciences, Plant Pathology, University of Helsinki, , Helsinki, FI‐00014 Finland;2. School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, , Reading, RG6 6AJ UK;3. Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Menoufiya University, , Menoufiya, Egypt;4. Department of Biosciences, Division of Genetics, University of Helsinki, , Helsinki, FI‐00014 Finland |
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| Abstract: | Bacterial soft rot is a globally significant plant disease that causes major losses in the production of many popular crops, such as potato. Little is known about the dispersal and ecology of soft‐rot enterobacteria, and few animals have been identified as vectors for these pathogens. This study investigates whether soil‐living and bacterial‐feeding nematodes could act as vectors for the dispersal of soft‐rot enterobacteria to plants. Soft‐rot enterobacteria associated with nematodes were quantified and visualized through bacterial enumeration, GFP‐tagging, and confocal and electron scanning microscopy. Soft‐rot enterobacteria were able to withstand nematode grazing, colonize the gut of Caenorhabditis elegans and subsequently disperse to plant material while remaining virulent. Two nematode species were also isolated from a rotten potato sample obtained from a potato storage facility in Finland. Furthermore, one of these isolates (Pristionchus sp. FIN‐1) was shown to be able to disperse soft‐rot enterobacteria to plant material. The interaction of nematodes and soft‐rot enterobacteria seems to be more mutualistic rather than pathogenic, but more research is needed to explain how soft‐rot enterobacteria remain viable inside nematodes. |
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| Keywords: |
Caenorhabditis elegans
dispersion of bacterial soft rot mutualism
Pectobacterium
Pristionchus
Rhabditidae |
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