Guidelines are suggested to implement the introduction of beneficial insect-parasitic nematodes into the United States from abroad. These suggestions result from experiences and research with these and other biological control agents and from the current need for procedures to import nematodes. Subjects considered are need to import, foreign exploration, taxonomy, shipment, quarantine facilitie...

Bioengineering strategies are being developed that will provide specific and durable resistance against plant-parasitic nematodes in crops. The strategies come under three categories: (i) transfer of natural resistance genes from plants that have them to plants that do not, to mobilize the defense mechanisms in susceptible crops; (ii) interference with the biochemical signals that nematodes exc...

The aim of this review was to undertake a survey of researchers working with plant-parasitic nematodes in order to determine a 'top 10' list of these pathogens based on scientific and economic importance. Any such list will not be definitive as economic importance will vary depending on the region of the world in which a researcher is based. However, care was taken to include researchers from a...

Haustoria are parasitic plant speci®c organs that locate, attach to, and invade host plant tissues. Parasitic species of the Scrophulariaceae develop haustoria on their roots in response to chemical signals released by host plant roots. Haustorium development was induced in vitro in roots of the parasitic Scrophulariaceae Triphysaria versicolor by treating them with exudates obtained from maize...

Banana production is severely hindered by plant-parasitic nematodes in acidic, sandy soil. This study investigated the possibility of applying a novel fumigation agent based on ammonium bicarbonate as a strategy for controlling plant-parasitic nematodes under sealed conditions. Moreover, its effects on the nematode community in pot and field experiments were also measured using morphology and f...

Background: Plant-parasitic nematodes are important pests of horticultural crops causing damage and significant reduction in the crop yield of pineapple. A survey was conducted to determine the types, frequency and population distribution of plant-parasitic nematodes associated with pineapple in some pineapple-producing states in Nigeria. A total of 30 farms were sampled from Delta, Imo, and Cr...

Isoprene is the most abundant volatile compound emitted by vegetation. It influences air chemistry and is part of plant defense against abiotic stresses. However, whether isoprene influences biotic interactions between plants and other organisms has not been investigated to date. Here we show a new effect of isoprene, namely its influence on interactions between plants and insects. Herbivory in...

Plant-parasitic nematodes were found in 4 of the 12 clades of phylum Nematoda. These nematodes in different clades may have originated independently from their free-living fungivorous ancestors. However, the exact evolutionary process of these parasites is unclear. Here, we sequenced the genome sequence of a migratory plant nematode, Ditylenchus destructor We performed comparative genomics amon...

Parasitism in flowering plants has evolved at least 11 times [1]. Only one family, Orobanchaceae, comprises all major nutritional types of parasites: facultative, hemiparasitic (partially photosynthetic), and holoparasitic (nonphotosynthetic) [2]. Additionally, the family includes Lindenbergia, a nonparasitic genus sister to all parasitic Orobanchaceae [3-6]. Parasitic Orobanchaceae include spe...

The most commonly encountered plant-parasitic nematodes in eastern Washington Vitis vinifera vineyards are Meloidogyne hapla, Mesocriconema xenoplax, Pratylenchus spp., Xiphinema americanum, and Paratylenchus sp.; however, little is known about their distribution in the soil profile. The vertical and horizontal spatial distribution of plant-parasitic nematodes was determined in two Washington V...