Host status of Brachypodium distachyon to the cereal cyst nematode

Cereal cyst nematode (Heterodera avenae, CCN) distributes worldwide and has caused severe damage to cereal crops, and a model host will greatly aid in the study of this nematode. In this research, we assessed the sensitivity of 25 inbred lines of Brachypodium distachyon to H. avenae from Beijing, China. All lines of B. distachyon were infested by second-stage juveniles (J2s) of H. avenae from Daxing District of Beijing population, but only 13 inbred lines reproduced 0.2-3 cysts/plant, showing resistance. The entire root system of the infested B. distachyon appeared smaller and the fibrous roots were shorter and less numerous. We found that a dose of 1 000 J2s of H. avenae was sufficient for nematode infestation. We showed that Koz-1 of B. distachyon could reproduce more cysts than TR2A line. Line Koz-1 also supported the complete life cycles of 5 CCN geographical populations belonging to the Ha1 or Ha3 pathotype group. Our results suggest that B. distachyon is a host for CCN.