Three genes identified by genome wide association mapping of root-knot nematode susceptibility in Arabidopsis

Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstract

Abstract

Root-knot nematodes are devastating plant-pathogens affecting agricultural productivity of major food crops world-wide. Current control strategies depend on a limited supply of nematode resistance genes. Hence, there is need for alternative control strategies. Here, we show that more subtle quantitative trait loci could be used as additional genetic resource for nematode control.

We mapped the genetic architecture of susceptibility in 340 natural isolates of Arabidopsis thaliana to Meloidogyne incognitia. We found ample genetic variation in M. incognita reproduction on these plants, with a narrow-sense heritability of 0.52. By genome wide association 19 associated loci were identified. Three loci were investigated by characterizing nine T-DNA knock-out mutants of candidate genes, identifying three (co-)regulators of nematode susceptibility in Arabidopsis: BZR1, FRNI1, and ERF6.

Our results suggest that allelic variation in susceptibility genes could be used to improve nematode resistance of plants, paving the way to investigate these traits in food-crops.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - May 2019
Event7th plant genomics & gene editing congress: Europe - WTC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Duration: 21 May 201922 May 2019

Conference/symposium

Conference/symposium7th plant genomics & gene editing congress: Europe
Country/TerritoryNetherlands
CityRotterdam
Period21/05/1922/05/19

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Three genes identified by genome wide association mapping of root-knot nematode susceptibility in Arabidopsis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this