Nicotiana benthamiana as model plant for Meloidogyne graminicola infection

Summary Nicotiana benthamiana is widely used as a model plant to analyse cell biology and to obtain insight into the molecular host-pathogen interaction because it is susceptible to many pathogens. Since N. benthamiana can be transformed easily, it is also used to study pathogens for which it is not a known host. Meloidogyne graminicola has a fairly broad host range of mainly monocots and some dicots but no data were available on the ability of M. graminicola to infect N. benthamiana. In this study, we show that M. graminicola is able to infect and complete its life cycle in N. benthamiana, although our experiments demonstrate a lower susceptibility compared to rice. In addition, M. graminicola was also able to develop in N. tabacum but the reproduction was very low. Therefore, we conclude that N. benthamiana can be considered as a host, while this is not the case for N. tabacum.