WIKIMEDIA, ZYANCEPlants defend themselves against infectious bacteria and fungi by releasing a storm of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which kill the invaders. But for the sugarbeet nematode (Heterodera schachtii), this defensive attack is actually the key to its success.
Shahid Siddique and Christiane Matera from the University of Bonn in Germany have found that the nematode switches on plant genes that produce ROS. Without these molecules, the parasite cannot properly grow within its host. Their results are published today (April 3) in Science Signaling.
H.schachtii targets sugar beets, cabbages, broccoli, and related plants. It enters their roots as a larva and burrows its way toward the plant’s vascular cylinder, which runs down the middle of each root. The larval nematode then gently stabs the host’s cells with its mouthparts, causing them to partially dissolve and fuse with one another. The result is a giant nurse cell made of more than 200 merged plant cells—an all-you-can-eat buffet that the nematode taps into for nourishment while ...
