Mycorrhiza-induced resistance in banana acts on nematode host location and penetration

Mycorrhiza-induced resistance has been observed against a broad range of mainly soil-borne pathogens, including plant-parasitic nematodes, but the modes of action involved remain unclear. In this study the role of mycorrhiza-induced resistance was investigated during the pre-infectional phase of nematode host finding and penetration. Banana plants were colonized by Glomus mosseae or Glomus intraradices, two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The plant-parasitic nematode Radopholus similis was inoculated after establishment of the mycorrhizal colonization. Nematode attraction and penetration were assessed within a 12-day period. In root exudate experiments, root exudates collected from both control and mycorrhizal plants were added both to control and mycorrhizal plants to assess their direct impact on the nematode penetration. In an in vitro chemotaxis bio-assay, the chemotactic behavior of R. similis was determined towards isolated root exudates of control and mycorrhizal plants. The penetration experiments clearly showed lower nematode penetration in mycorrhizal plants and the important contribution of differential root exudation by mycorrhizal plants was demonstrated in the exudate experiments as well as in the in vitro chemotaxis bio-assay, with the largest impact on juveniles. The root exudate experiments and in vitro chemotaxis bio-assay point towards a reduced attraction of the nematodes to the mycorrhizal plant roots. The results demonstrate that a water-soluble compound in mycorrhizal root exudates is at least partially responsible for the mycorrhiza-induced resistance at the pre-infectional level of R. similis infection.