Plant root exudates are compositionally diverse, plastic and adaptive. Ethylene signalling influences the attraction of plant parasitic nematodes, presumably through the modulation of root exudate composition. Understanding this pathway could lead to new sources of crop parasite resistance. Here we used Virus-Induced Gene Silencing to knock down the expression of two Ethylene Response Factor (ERF) genes, ERF-E2 and ERF-E3, in tomato. Root exudates were significantly more attractive to the PPNs Meloidogyne incognita and Globodera pallida following knockdown of ERF-E2, which had no impact on the attraction of Meloidogyne javanica. Knockdown of ERF-E3 had no impact on the attraction of Meloidogyne or Globodera spp. Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry analysis revealed major changes in root exudate composition relative to controls. However, these changes did not alter the attraction of rhizosphere microbes Bacillus subtilis or Agrobacterium tumefaciens. This study further supports the potential of engineering plant root exudate for parasite control, through the modulation of plant genes.

中文翻译：

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乙烯反应因子（ERF）基因调​​节植物根系分泌物的组成和植物寄生线虫的吸引力。

植物根系分泌物在组成上是多样的，可塑性的和适应性强的。乙烯信号传导可能通过调节根系分泌物的成分来影响植物寄生线虫的吸引力。了解该途径可能会导致新的农作物寄生虫抗性来源。在这里，我们使用病毒诱导的基因沉默来敲除番茄中两个乙烯反应因子（ERF）基因ERF-E2和ERF-E3的表达。敲除ERF-E2后，根系分泌物对PPNs根结线虫和浅色Globodera更具吸引力，这对爪哇根结线虫的吸引力没有影响。击倒ERF-E3对根结线虫或Globodera spp的吸引力没有影响。气相色谱质谱分析表明，与对照相比，根系分泌物成分发生了重大变化。然而，这些变化并没有改变根际微生物对枯草芽孢杆菌或根癌农杆菌的吸引力。这项研究进一步支持了通过调节植物基因工程化植物根系分泌物进行寄生虫控制的潜力。