The fight against plant-parasitic nematodes: current status of bacterial and fungal biocontrol agents

• Main Author: Pires, David
• Publication Date: 2022
• Other Authors: Vicente, Cláudia, Menéndez, Esther, Faria, Jorge, Rusinque, Leidy, Camacho, Maria João, Inácio, Lurdes
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/10174/32705; https://doi.org/Pires, D., Vicente, C.S.L., Menéndez, E., Faria, J.M.S., Rusinque, L., Camacho, M.J. & Inácio, M.L. (2022). The fight against plant-parasitic nematodes: current status of bacterial and fungal biocontrol agents. Pathogens, 11(10): 1178. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11101178; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11101178
• topic: bacteria; biological control; bionematicides; cyst nematodes; nematophagous fungi; pinewood nematode; root-knot nematodes; root-lesion nematodes

Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are among the most notorious and underrated threats to food security and plant health worldwide, compromising crop yields and causing billions of dollars of losses annually. Chemical control strategies rely heavily on synthetic chemical nematicides to reduce PPN population densities, but their use is being progressively restricted due to environmental and human health concerns, so alternative control methods are urgently needed. Here, we review the potential of bacterial and fungal agents to suppress the most important PPNs, namely Aphelenchoides besseyi, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, Ditylenchus dipsaci, Globodera spp., Heterodera spp., Meloidogyne spp., Nacobbus aberrans, Pratylenchus spp., Radopholus similis, Rotylenchulus reniformis, and Xiphinema index.