SummaryStudies involving plant-nematode interactions provide an opportunity to unravel plant defense signaling in root tissues. In this study, we have characterized the roles of salicylate (SA), jasmonate (JA), ethylene (ET) and abscisic acid (ABA) in plant defense against the migratory nematode Hirschmanniella oryzae in the monocot model plant rice (Oryza sativa).Experiments with exogenous hormone applications, biosynthesis inhibition and mutant/ transgenic lines were executed to test the effect on H. oryzae parasitism in rice roots.Our results demonstrate that an intact ET, JA and SA biosynthesis pathway is a prerequisite for defense against H. oryzae. By contrast, exogenous ABA treatment drastically compromised the rice defense towards this nematode. Gene expression analyses using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) demonstrate that the disease-inducing effect of ABA is likely to be the result of an antagonistic interaction between this hormone and the SA/JA/ET-dependent basal defense system.Collectively, in rice defense against H. oryzae, at least three pathways, namely SA, JA and ET, are important, while ABA plays a negative role in defense. Our results suggest that the balance of ABA and SA/JA/ET signaling is an important determinant for the outcome of the rice-H. oryzae interaction.

The fruit fly Ceratitis cosyra is an important agricultural pest negatively affecting the mango crop production throughout Africa and also feeding on a variety of other wild and cultivated hosts. The occurrence of deeply divergent haplotypes, as well as extensive morphological variability, previously suggested possible cryptic speciation within Ceratitis cosyra. Here we provide the first large-scale characterisation of the population structure of Ceratitis cosyra with the main objective of verifying cryptic genetic variation. A total of 348 specimens from 13 populations were genotyped at 16 polymorphic microsatellite loci. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) deviations were observed in 40.4% of locus-population combinations and suggested the occurrence of genetic substructuring within populations. Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components (DAPC) showed genetic divergence between the vast majority of vouchers from Burundi and Tanzania (plus a few outliers from other African countries) and all other specimens sampled. Individual Bayesian assignments confirmed the existence of two main genotypic groups also occurring in sympatry. These data provided further support to the hypothesis that Ceratitis cosyra might include cryptic species. However, additional integrative taxonomy, possibly combining morphological, ecological and physiological approaches, is required to provide the necessary experimental support to this model.

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Summary The root-lesion nematode, Pratylenchus zeae, is commonly found in upland rice fields. To measure the impact of the nematode on rice production, a screenhouse experiment was conducted using two farmer-adapted Oryza sativa cultivars, ‘Supa’ (‘SurinamV-880’) and ‘SARO-5’ (‘TXD 306’), under flooded, upland and drought water regimes imposed at 7 days post-inoculation of mixed-stage nematodes (200, 500, 1000, 3000 and 10 000 plant−1). Growth and yield parameters were recorded, and the experiment was terminated after 5 months. ‘Supa’ was shown to be resistant to P. zeae, while ‘SARO-5’ was susceptible. Pratylenchus zeae reduced the growth and yield of both cultivars, though more for ‘SARO-5’ than for ‘Supa’. Yield decreased with increasing final nematode densities. Pratylenchus zeae reproduction was highest at 200 and 500 inoculum levels and under upland water conditions. The yield of ‘SARO-5’ was greater than that of ‘Supa’ under flooded conditions and with no or 200 and 500 nematode inoculum levels, but with high P. zeae inoculum ‘Supa’ yield was better than ‘SARO-5’.