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Kantor C, Eisenback JD, Kantor M. Biosecurity risks to human food supply associated with plant-parasitic nematodes. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1404335. [PMID: 38745921 PMCID: PMC11091314 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1404335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Biosecurity in agriculture is essential for preventing the introduction and spread of plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) which threaten global food security by reducing crop yields and facilitating disease spread. These risks are exacerbated by increased global trade and climate change, which may alter PPN distribution and activity, increasing their impact on agricultural systems. Addressing these challenges is vital to maintaining the integrity of the food supply chain. This review highlights significant advancements in managing PPN-related biosecurity risks within the food supply chain, particularly considering climate change's evolving influence. It discusses the PPN modes of transmission, factors increasing the risk of infestation, the impact of PPNs on food safety and security, and traditional and emerging approaches for detecting and managing these pests. Literature suggests that implementing advanced biosecurity measures could decrease PPN infestation rates by up to 70%, substantially reducing crop yield losses and bolstering food security. Notably, the adoption of modern detection and management techniques, (molecular diagnostics and integrated pest management) and emerging geospatial surveillance and analysis systems (spectral imaging, change-detection analysis) has shown greater effectiveness than traditional methods. These innovations offer promising avenues for enhancing crop health and securing the food supply chain against environmental shifts. The integration of these strategies is crucial, demonstrating the potential to transform biosecurity practices and sustain agricultural productivity in the face of changing climatic conditions. This analysis emphasizes the importance of adopting advanced measures to protect crop health and ensure food supply chain resilience, providing valuable insights for stakeholders across the agricultural sector.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camelia Kantor
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, United States
| | - Jonathan D. Eisenback
- School of Plant and Environmental Science, Virginia Tech, State College, Blacksburg, VA, United States
| | - Mihail Kantor
- Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology Department, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, PA, United States
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Sun SJ. A framework for using phoresy to assess ecological transition into parasitism and mutualism. Symbiosis 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s13199-022-00830-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Van Goor J, Herre EA, Gómez A, Nason JD. Extraordinarily precise nematode sex ratios: adaptive responses to vanishingly rare mating opportunities. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20211572. [PMID: 35042409 PMCID: PMC8767218 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Sex ratio theory predicts both mean sex ratio and variance under a range of population structures. Here, we compare two genera of phoretic nematodes (Parasitodiplogaster and Ficophagus spp.) associated with 12 fig pollinating wasp species in Panama. The host wasps exhibit classic local mate competition: only inseminated females disperse from natal figs, and their offspring form mating pools that consist of scores of the adult offspring contributed by one or a few foundress mothers. By contrast, in both nematode genera, only sexually undifferentiated juveniles disperse and their mating pools routinely consist of 10 or fewer adults. Across all mating pool sizes, the sex ratios observed in both nematode genera are consistently female-biased (approx. 0.34 males), but markedly less female-biased than is often observed in the host wasps (approx. 0.10 males). In further contrast with their hosts, variances in nematode sex ratios are also consistently precise (significantly less than binomial). The constraints associated with predictably small mating pools within highly subdivided populations appear to select for precise sex ratios that contribute both to the reproductive success of individual nematodes, and to the evolutionary persistence of nematode species. We suggest that some form of environmental sex determination underlies these precise sex ratios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Van Goor
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 9100, Box 0948, DPO AA 34002-9998, Miami, FL 34002, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010, USA
| | - Edward Allen Herre
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 9100, Box 0948, DPO AA 34002-9998, Miami, FL 34002, USA
| | - Adalberto Gómez
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 9100, Box 0948, DPO AA 34002-9998, Miami, FL 34002, USA
| | - John D. Nason
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010, USA
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Van Goor J, Piatscheck F, Houston DD, Nason JD. Differential effects of nematode infection on pollinating and non-pollinating fig wasps: Can shared antagonism provide net benefits to a mutualism? J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:1764-1775. [PMID: 33934356 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Species pairs that form mutualistic associations are also components of broader organismal community networks. These interaction networks have shaped the evolution of individual mutualisms through interspecific interactions ranging from secondarily mutualistic to intensely antagonistic. Our understanding of this complex context remains limited because characterizing the impacts of species interacting with focal mutualists is often difficult. How is the fitness of mutualists impacted by the co-occurring interactive network of community associates? We investigated this context using a model interaction network comprised of a fig and fig wasp mutualist, eight non-pollinating fig wasp (NPFW) antagonists/commensals and a nematode previously believed to be associated only with the pollinator wasp mutualist. Through repeated sampling and field observations, we characterized the ecological roles of these mutualist-associated organisms to identify key antagonists. We then investigated how potential nematode infection of NPFWs could impact wasp survival across key life stages and, in turn, inferred how this influences the fitness of the fig-pollinator mutualists. Unexpectedly, we found all Ficus petiolaris-associated NPFWs to be the targets for nematode infection, with infection levels sometimes exceeding that of pollinators. Experimental data collected for the most abundant NPFW species suggest that nematode infection significantly reduces their longevity. Further, comparisons of nematode loads for emerging and successfully arriving NPFWs suggest that infection severely limits their dispersal ability. Through these observations, we conclude that this infection could impact NPFWs more severely than either mutualistic partner, suggesting a novel role of density-dependent facultative mutualism between figs, pollinator wasps and the nematode. This antagonist-mediated suppression of other network antagonists may present an ecologically common mechanism through which antagonists can present net benefits for mutualists' fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Van Goor
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.,Department of Biology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Finn Piatscheck
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá, República de Panamá
| | - Derek D Houston
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.,Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Western Colorado University, Gunnison, CO, USA
| | - John D Nason
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
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Gupta S, Kumble ALK, Dey K, Bessière JM, Borges RM. The Scent of Life: Phoretic Nematodes Use Wasp Volatiles and Carbon Dioxide to Choose Functional Vehicles for Dispersal. J Chem Ecol 2021; 47:139-152. [PMID: 33475939 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-021-01242-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Hitchhikers (phoretic organisms) need vehicles to disperse out of unsuitable habitats. Therefore, finding vehicles with the right functional attributes is essential for phoretic organisms. To locate these vehicles, phoretic organisms employ cues within modalities, ranging from visual to chemical senses. However, how hitchhikers discriminate between individual vehicles has rarely been investigated. Using a phoretic nematode community associated with an obligate fig-fig wasp pollination mutualism, we had earlier established that hitchhiking nematodes make decisions based on vehicle species identity and number of conspecific hitchhikers already present on the vehicle. Here we investigate if hitchhikers can differentiate between physiological states of vehicles. We asked whether phoretic nematodes choose between live or dead vehicles present in a chemically crowded environment and we investigated the basis for any discrimination. We conducted two-choice and single-choice behavioral assays using single nematodes and found that plant- and animal-parasitic nematodes preferred live over dead vehicles and used volatiles as a sensory cue to make this decision. However, in single-choice assays, animal-parasitic nematodes were also attracted towards naturally dead or freeze-killed wasps. The volatile profile of the wasps was dominated by terpenes and spiroketals. We examined the volatile blend emitted by the different wasp physiological states and determined a set of volatiles that the phoretic nematodes might use to discriminate between these states which is likely coupled with respired CO2. We determined that CO2 levels emitted by single wasps are sufficient to attract nematodes, demonstrating the high sensitivity of nematodes to this metabolic product.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satyajeet Gupta
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
| | - Anusha L K Kumble
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
| | - Kaveri Dey
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
| | | | - Renee M Borges
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India.
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