Development and pharyngeal gland activities of Heterodera schachtii infecting Arabidopsis thaliana roots.

As plant-nematode research continues to use the model host plant Arabidopsis thaliana more and more, we made a detailed life cycle study of Heterodera schachtii on this host, and investigated pharyngeal gland activities at the most crucial steps during the establishment of the parasitic interaction. In our experimental set up, in most cases induction of syncytia occurred during day 2, and the second moult during day 6. In pre-parasitic juveniles, both subventral glands contained numerous secretory granules, which gradually disappeared during intracellular migration of the juvenile through the roots. At the same time, both glands decreased in size and, after induction of the feeding cell, new kinds of secretory granules could be observed in the cytoplasm. During migration and induction of the feeding cell, the dorsal pharyngeal gland continuously increased in size. Secretory granules were already present in the dorsal gland of pre-parasitic juveniles, and a continuous synthesis of these granules was observed thereafter. Once the syncytium was induced, however, different types of secretory granules were formed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]