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The application of Arabidopsis thaliana in studying tripartite interactions among plants, beneficial fungal endophytes and biotrophic plant-parasitic nematodes

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Abstract

Main conclusion

The research demonstrated that Arabidopsis can be used as a model system for studying plant–nematode–endophyte tripartite interactions; thus, opening new possibilities for further characterizing the molecular mechanisms behind these interactions.

Arabidopsis has been established as an important model system for studying plant biology and plant–microbe interactions. We show that this plant can also be used for studying the tripartite interactions among plants, the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita and a beneficial endophytic isolate of Fusarium oxysporum, strain Fo162. In various plant species, Fo162 can systemically reduce M. incognita infection development and fecundity. Here it is shown that Fo162 can also colonize A. thaliana roots without causing disease symptoms, thus behaving as a typical endophyte. As observed for other plants, this endophyte could not migrate from the roots into the shoots and leaves. Direct inoculation of the leaves also did not result in colonization of the plant. A significant increase in plant fresh weight, root length and average root diameter was observed, suggesting the promotion of plant growth by the endophyte. The inoculation of A. thaliana with F. oxysporum strain Fo162 also resulted in a significant reduction in the number of M. incognita juveniles infecting the roots and ultimately the number of galls produced. This was also observed in a split-root experiment, in which the endophyte and nematode were spatially separated. The usefulness of Arabidopsis opens new possibilities for further dissecting complex tripartite interactions at the molecular and biochemical level.

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Abbreviations

AGC2-2:

Protein kinase of the AGC2 subfamily

Fo162:

Fusarium oxysporum strain Fo162

H2O2 :

Hydrogen peroxide

J2:

Infective second-stage juveniles of Meloidogyne incognita

NaOCl:

Sodium hypochloride

PA:

Phosphatidic acid

PDK1:

3-Phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase1

OXI1:

Oxidative signal-inducible1 protein kinase

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Acknowledgments

We thank the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for funding this research through a Ph.D. Scholarship. This research was part of a Ph.D. project to study the interrelationships between mutualistic endophytic microorganisms, root-knot nematodes and sap-sucking insects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRES-Soil Ecosystem Phytopathology and Nematology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 9, 53115, Bonn, Germany

    Alfonso Martinuz & Richard A. Sikora

  2. INRES-Molecular Phytomedicine, University of Bonn, Karlrobert-Kreiten-Straße 13, 53115, Bonn, Germany

    Getaneh Zewdu, Nicole Ludwig, Florian Grundler & Alexander Schouten

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  1. Alfonso Martinuz
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  2. Getaneh Zewdu
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  3. Nicole Ludwig
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Correspondence to Alfonso Martinuz.

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Martinuz, A., Zewdu, G., Ludwig, N. et al. The application of Arabidopsis thaliana in studying tripartite interactions among plants, beneficial fungal endophytes and biotrophic plant-parasitic nematodes. Planta 241, 1015–1025 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-014-2237-5

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