Interaction of nematodes with nematophagus fungi: induction of trap formation, attraction and detection of attractants

Saxena, Geeta; Dayal, R.; Mukerji, K. G.

doi:10.1111/j.1574-6968.1987.tb02408.x

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Nematode-trapping fungi have fascinated scientists for decades, and many earlier workers have observed the way in which the presence of nematodes alters the morphology and metabolism of trap-forming species. Although earlier studies detected attractant and nematocidal metabolites by their activities, the compounds were never chemically identified ( 21 – 27 , 30 ). Therefore, we hypothesized that these signaling molecules might be volatile in nature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Among them, two furanone metabolites (metabolites 5 and 6) emitted by the fungus grown on CMA were found to attract the nematodes to the fungal colony. An early study on comparison of the interaction of the free-living nematode Panagrellus redivivus with nematophagous fungi and nonnematophagous fungi showed that nematophagous fungi preferred to attract nematodes, while nonnematophagous fungi repelled them ( 30 ). Our data not only confirm that the nematode-trapping fungi can chemically lure the prey to traps but also identify specific attractive compounds to be volatile in nature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Integrated Metabolomics and Morphogenesis Reveal Volatile Signaling of the Nematode-Trapping Fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora

Wang

Xue

et al. 2018

Appl Environ Microbiol

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The adjustment of metabolic patterns is fundamental to fungal biology and plays vital roles in adaptation to diverse ecological challenges. Nematode-trapping fungi can switch their lifestyle from saprophytic to pathogenic by developing specific trapping devices induced by nematodes to infect their prey as a response to nutrient depletion in nature. However, the chemical identity of the specific fungal metabolites used during the switch remains poorly understood. We hypothesized that these important signal molecules might be volatile in nature. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to carry out comparative analysis of fungal metabolomics during the saprophytic and pathogenic lifestyles of the model species Arthrobotrys oligospora. Two media commonly used in research on this species, cornmeal agar (CMA) and potato dextrose agar (PDA), were chosen for use in this study. The fungus produced a small group of volatile furanone and pyrone metabolites that were associated with the switch from the saprophytic to the pathogenic stage. A. oligospora fungi grown on CMA tended to produce more traps and employ attractive furanones to improve the utilization of traps, while fungi grown on PDA developed fewer traps and used nematode-toxic furanone metabolites to compensate for insufficient traps. Another volatile pyrone metabolite, maltol, was identified as a morphological regulator for enhancing trap formation. Deletion of the gene AOL_s00079g496 in A. oligospora led to increased amounts of the furanone attractant (2-fold) in mutants and enhanced the attractive activity (1.5-fold) of the fungus, while it resulted in decreased trap formation. This investigation provides new insights regarding the comprehensive tactics of fungal adaptation to environmental stress, integrating both morphological and metabolomic mechanisms.IMPORTANCE Nematode-trapping fungi are a unique group of soil-living fungi that can switch from the saprophytic to the pathogenic lifestyle once they come into contact with nematodes as a response to nutrient depletion. In this study, we investigated the metabolic response during the switch and the key types of metabolites involved in the interaction between fungi and nematodes. Our findings indicate that A. oligospora develops multiple and flexible metabolic tactics corresponding to different morphological responses to nematodes. A. oligospora can use similar volatile furanone and pyrone metabolites with different ecological functions to help capture nematodes in the fungal switch from the saprophytic to the pathogenic lifestyle. Furthermore, studies with A. oligospora mutants with increased furanone and pyrone metabolites confirmed the results. This investigation reveals the importance of volatile signaling in the comprehensive tactics used by nematode-trapping fungi, integrating both morphological and metabolomic mechanisms.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Metabolomics and Morphogenesis Reveal Volatile Signaling of the Nematode-Trapping Fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora

Wang

Xue

et al. 2018

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…Although pathogen burden and selective pressure in nature still remains poorly understood, the observations of intraspecies variation and interspecies differences in pathogen sensitivity [47], rapid inter-species molecular evolution of immune-related genes [48], as well as the ease by which it can evolve experimentally [49], all implicate great potential for evolution of innate immunity in the wild. Chemical secretions also could represent an important set of traits subject to diversifying selection in nature, as they are used as cues by predators such as nematode-trapping-fungi [50], in dauer larva induction [29,51], and in mate-finding [51][52][53].…”

Section: Which Traits Are Important For Adaptive Divergence In the Wild?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Caenorhabditis evolution in the wild

Cutter

2015

BioEssays

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Recent research has filled many gaps about Caenorhabditis natural history, simultaneously exposing how much remains to be discovered. This awareness now provides means of connecting ecological and evolutionary theory with diverse biological patterns within and among species in terms of adaptation, sexual selection, breeding systems, speciation, and other phenomena. Moreover, the heralded laboratory tractability of C. elegans, and Caenorhabditis species generally, provides a powerful case study for experimental hypothesis testing about evolutionary and ecological processes to levels of detail unparalleled by most study systems. Here, I synthesize pertinent theory with what we know and suspect about Caenorhabditis natural history for salient features of biodiversity, phenotypes, population dynamics, and interactions within and between species. I identify topics of pressing concern to advance Caenorhabditis biology and to study general evolutionary processes, including the key opportunities to tackle problems in dispersal dynamics, competition, and the dimensionality of niche space.

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“…NTF develop traps to capture and consume nematodes. However, the trapping abilities of these fungi vary greatly, even among closely-related fungal species and in different types of media (4,31,32). Quantifying trap formation by different strains is crucial to study the trapping behavior of these fungal predators (4).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal Feature Tracker (FFT): A tool for quantitatively characterizing the morphology and growth of filamentous fungi

Ulzurrun

Huang

Chang

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Filamentous fungi are ubiquitous in nature and serve as important biological models in various scientific fields including genetics, cell biology, ecology, evolution, and chemistry. A significant obstacle in studying filamentous fungi is the lack of tools for characterizing their growth and morphology in an efficient and quantitative manner. Consequently, assessments of the growth of filamentous fungi are often subjective and imprecise. In order to remedy this problem, we developed Fungal Feature Tracker (FFT), a user-friendly software comprised of different image analysis tools to automatically quantify different fungal characteristics, such as spore number, spore morphology, and measurements of total length, number of hyphal tips and the area covered by the mycelium. In addition, FFT can recognize and quantify specialized structures such as the traps generated by nematode-trapping fungi, which could be tuned to quantify other distinctive fungal structures in different fungi. We present a detailed characterization and comparison of a few fungal species as a case study to demonstrate the capabilities and potential of our software. Using FFT, we were able to quantify various features at strain and species level, such as mycelial growth over time and the length and width of spores, which would be difficult to track using classical approaches. In summary, FFT is a powerful tool that enables quantitative measurements of fungal features and growth, allowing objective and precise characterization of fungal phenotypes. Author Summary One of the main obstacles to study filamentous fungi is the lack of tools for characterizing fungal phenotypes in an efficient and quantitative manner. Assessment of cell growth and numbers rely on tedious manual techniques that often result in subjective and imprecise measurements. In response to those limitations, we developed Fungal Feature Tracker (FFT), a user-friendly software that allows researchers to characterize different phenotypic features of filamentous fungi such as sporulation, spore morphology and mycelial growth. In addition, FFT can recognize and quantify other fungal structures including the fungal traps developed by nematode-trapping fungi. In order to show the capabilities and potential of our software, we conducted a detailed characterization and comparison of different fungal species. Our comparison relies on a series of experimental set-ups using standard and easily accessible equipment to ensure reproducibility in other laboratories. In summary, FFT is an easy to use and powerful tool that can quantitatively characterize fungal morphology, cell number and quantitatively measures the filamentous growth, which will allow advance our understanding of the growth and biology of filamentous fungi.

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Interaction of nematodes with nematophagus fungi: induction of trap formation, attraction and detection of attractants

Cited by 14 publications

References 28 publications

Integrated Metabolomics and Morphogenesis Reveal Volatile Signaling of the Nematode-Trapping Fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora

Integrated Metabolomics and Morphogenesis Reveal Volatile Signaling of the Nematode-Trapping Fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora

Caenorhabditis evolution in the wild

Fungal Feature Tracker (FFT): A tool for quantitatively characterizing the morphology and growth of filamentous fungi

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