How nematodes manipulate plant development pathways for infection

Sedentary plant-parasitic nematodes establish long term relationships with their hosts. Root vascular cells are transformed into large multinucleate feeding cells from which the nematodes feed for more than one month. Recent transcriptome analyses suggest that feeding cells are different from other plant cell types. Their development, however, remains poorly understood, despite new evidence that appears to confirm previously proposed models, such as the important role of auxin. From the analysis of nematode effector proteins that interact with plant proteins, it has become clear that nematodes manipulate many aspects of plant development, including auxin transport and plant cell differentiation pathways. These studies are also revealing roles for effectors in the inhibition of plant stress and defense responses to establish feeding cells. In the coming years breakthroughs can be expected in our understanding of plant-nematode interactions from the functional analysis of nematode effector genes as well as the involved plant genes.

► Nematodes secrete effector proteins to reprogramme root cells and counteract defense.
► Nematode effector proteins modulate auxin flow by targeting auxin transport proteins.
► Nematode infection affects the localization and activity of PIN proteins.
► Nematodes secrete plant peptide mimics to affect cell differentiation.
► Transcriptome analyses reveal the uniqueness of nematode feeding cells.