Root-knot Nematode - Life Cycle

Life Cycle

All nematodes pass through an embryonic stage, four juvenile stages (J1–J4) and an adult stage. Juvenile Meloidogynes parasites hatch from eggs as vermiform, second-stage juveniles (J2), the first moult having occurred within the egg. Newly-hatched juveniles have a short free-living stage in the soil, in the rhizosphere of the host plants. They may reinvade the host plants of their parent or migrate through the soil to find a new host root. J2 larvae do not feed during the free-living stage, but use lipids stored in the gut.

An excellent model system for the study of the parasitic behaviour of plant-parasitic nematodes has been developed using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model host. The Arabidopsis roots are initially small and transparent, enabling every detail to be seen. Invasion and migration in the root was studied using M. incognita. Briefly, second stage juveniles invade in the root elongation region and migrate in the root until they became sedentary. Signals from the J2 promote parenchyma cells near the head of the J2 to become multinucleate to form feeding cells, generally known as giant cells, from which the J2 and later the adults feed. Concomitant with giant cell formation, the surrounding root tissue gives rise to a gall in which the developing juvenile is embedded. Juveniles first feed from the giant cells about 24 hours after becoming sedentary.

After further feeding, the J2s undergo morphological changes and become saccate. Without further feeding, they moult three times and eventually become adults. In females, which are close to spherical, feeding resumes and the reproductive system develops. The life span of an adult female may extend to three months, and many hundreds of eggs can be produced. Females can continue egg laying after harvest of aerial parts of the plant and the survival stage between crops is generally within the egg.

The length of the life cycle is temperature-dependent. The relationship between rate of development and temperature is linear over much of the root-knot nematode life cycle, though it is possible the component stages of the life cycle, e.g. egg development, host root invasion or growth, have slightly different optima. Species within the Meloidogyne genus also have different temperature optima. In M. javanica, development occurs between 13 and 34°C, with optimal development at about 29°C.