Nematodes in Soil Systems

A special issue of Soil Systems (ISSN 2571-8789).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2020) | Viewed by 14879

Special Issue Editors


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Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics, Julius Kühn – Institut (JKI) - Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Messeweg 11-12, 38104 Braunschweig, Germany
Interests: phytonematodes; microbial ecology of agroecosystems; nematode-microbe interaction; rhizosphere soil; soil suppressiveness to phytopathogens; epidemiology of soil-born diseases of cultivated plants

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Department Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics, Julius Kühn - Institut, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Braunschweig, Germany
Interests: phytonematodes; biological control; soil microbiome; nematode-plant-microbe interactions

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Microbial Metagenomics Division, The Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Mt Masada, Israel
Interests: microbial ecology; genome evolution; root–knot nematodes and their microbiome

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Department of Nematology, University of California Riverside, Parlier, CA, USA
Interests: interactions in soils especially those of nematodes, microorganisms and the plant; nematode diseases of vine and tree crops
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
Interests: plant-soil feedbacks; linkage between aboveground and underground; soil nematodes as bioindicators

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International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nairobi, Kenya
Interests: tropical agriculture; soil health; plant-parasitic nematodes

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Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Slagelse, Denmark
Interests: nematode trophic groups; plant-parasitic nematodes; trap crops; soil ecology; bioaccumulation of heavy metals in soil organisms; biochar; effect of climate change on soil organisms; soil microbiology; biogeochemistry

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INRES-Molecular Phytomedicine, University Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Interests: plant-parasitic nematodes; nematode-plant-microbe interaction; plant defense

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Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, Institute of Biodiversity, Braunschweig, Germany
Interests: importance of soil fauna for development and function of the soil structure; interactions between soil fauna and phytopathogenic fungi; impact assessment of land-use change

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nematodes represent a highly diverse group of microscopic organisms. Due to their key position in the soil food web, they are useful indicators of soil quality and soil health. The nematode community structure sensitively reflects environmental changes. Plant-parasitic and free-living nematodes interact with the plant and the microbiome in soil. Nematodes influence the root morphology and exudation, and thereby indirectly modulate the microbiome of the rhizosphere. This probably influences the productivity and health of the plant in an as-of-yet underestimated way. Depending on the species, nematodes may transport specific microorganisms, graze on particular microbes, control the balance between bacteria and fungi, provide food for higher-level predators, or may themselves be food for bacteria and fungi. Fungivorous nematodes eventually reduce phytopathogenic or mycotoxin-producing fungi. Microvorous nematodes feeding on bacteria or fungi contribute to nutrient mineralization. Excreted excess nitrogen can significantly contribute to the nutrient supply of plants. Omnivorous, predatory, and entomopathogenic nematodes can be beneficial as natural enemies of other soil organisms. In agroecosystems, the knowledge-based management of soil biomes will lead to a more sustainably productive agriculture that requires fewer inputs of diminishing resources.

We invite authors to submit current research that provides new insights into the ecology and molecular biology of the interactions between nematodes, plants, their symbionts, and other soil organisms. We also expect submissions on the ecological links between above- and below-ground, and the trophic cascade across plants, microbes, nematodes, and other fauna. In particular, we welcome authors to report recent findings on the role of microbial communities in shaping nematode communities or populations. This includes studies on the microbiomes of various life stages of nematodes, and how the microbiome affects nematodes. We are interested in how nematode communities or their associated microbes are influenced by soil parameters, plants, or anthropogenic activity in agroecosystems, managed forests, or more natural terrestrial ecosystems.

Dr. Holger Heuer
Prof. Johannes Hallmann
Dr. Amir Szitenberg
Dr. Andreas Westphal
Dr. Bing Yang
Dr. Danny Coyne
Dr. Mette Vestergård
Dr. Sylvia Schleker
Dr. Stefan Schrader
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Soil Systems is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nematodes
  • soil
  • plant–soil feedback
  • soil food web
  • interaction between aboveground and belowground
  • microbiome
  • bacterial community
  • fungal community
  • nematode community
  • metabarcoding
  • nematode–microbe interaction
  • agroecosystem
  • forest soil

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3340 KiB  
Article
Effects of Cover Cropping on Microbial Communities Associated with Heterodera schachtii and Nematode Virulence
by Rasha Haj Nuaima, Holger Heuer and Andreas Westphal
Soil Syst. 2019, 3(4), 67; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems3040067 - 11 Oct 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2741
Abstract
Nematode-resistant cover crops can suppress populations of plant-parasitic nematodes. Samples of a loamy and a sandy loam soil were collected from two sugar beet fields in Lower Saxonia, northern Germany (“Jeinsen” and “Gross Munzel”) to measure the effects of cover cropping on the [...] Read more.
Nematode-resistant cover crops can suppress populations of plant-parasitic nematodes. Samples of a loamy and a sandy loam soil were collected from two sugar beet fields in Lower Saxonia, northern Germany (“Jeinsen” and “Gross Munzel”) to measure the effects of cover cropping on the population genetic structure and infectivity of Heterodera schachtii as well as the composition of soil microbial communities. These fields allowed for a comparison of cover cropping with Brassica species resistant to Heterodera schachtii to fallow. In a series of radish bioassays with H. schachtii populations from Jeinsen and Gross Munzel, ratios of second-stage juveniles in roots per eggs in soil were higher in soil from under Brassica cropping than from under fallow. In denaturing gradient gelelectrophoresis, profiles of the parasitism gene vap1 differed between Brassica and fallow treatments in both populations. At Gross Munzel, microbes of soils and within nematode cysts differed between Brassica and fallow areas. Specifically, the frequency and occurrence of isolates of Pochonia chlamydosporia and Exophiala salmonis were lower within the cysts from Brassica than from fallow treatments. Overall, cover cropping with resistant Brassica species affected the bacteria and fungi infecting the cysts and subsequently, the infectivity of the H. schachtii population. Cover crop effects on nematode virulence (vap1 gene) and microbial colonization of the cysts could affect long-term nematode population dynamics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nematodes in Soil Systems)
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13 pages, 932 KiB  
Article
Biotic Interactions in Experimental Antarctic Soil Microcosms Vary with Abiotic Stress
by E. Ashley Shaw and Diana H. Wall
Soil Syst. 2019, 3(3), 57; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems3030057 - 27 Aug 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3452
Abstract
Biotic interactions structure ecological communities but abiotic factors affect the strength of these relationships. These interactions are difficult to study in soils due to their vast biodiversity and the many environmental factors that affect soil species. The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), Antarctica, are [...] Read more.
Biotic interactions structure ecological communities but abiotic factors affect the strength of these relationships. These interactions are difficult to study in soils due to their vast biodiversity and the many environmental factors that affect soil species. The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), Antarctica, are relatively simple soil ecosystems compared to temperate soils, making them an excellent study system for the trophic relationships of soil. Soil microbes and relatively few species of nematodes, rotifers, tardigrades, springtails, and mites are patchily distributed across the cold, dry landscape, which lacks vascular plants and terrestrial vertebrates. However, glacier and permafrost melt are expected to cause shifts in soil moisture and solutes across this ecosystem. To test how increased moisture and salinity affect soil invertebrates and their biotic interactions, we established a laboratory microcosm experiment (4 community × 2 moisture × 2 salinity treatments). Community treatments were: (1) Bacteria only (control), (2) Scottnema (S. lindsayae + bacteria), (3) Eudorylaimus (E. antarcticus + bacteria), and (4) Mixed (S. lindsayae + E. antarcticus + bacteria). Salinity and moisture treatments were control and high. High moisture reduced S. lindsayae adults, while high salinity reduced the total S. lindsayae population. We found that S. lindsayae exerted top-down control over soil bacteria populations, but this effect was dependent on salinity treatment. In the high salinity treatment, bacteria were released from top-down pressure as S. lindsayae declined. Ours was the first study to empirically demonstrate, although in lab microcosm conditions, top-down control in the MDV soil food web. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nematodes in Soil Systems)
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14 pages, 2059 KiB  
Article
Getting to the Root of Selenium Hyperaccumulation—Localization and Speciation of Root Selenium and Its Effects on Nematodes
by Christine N. Prins, Laura J. Hantzis, Jose R. Valdez-Barillas, Jennifer J. Cappa, Sirine C. Fakra, Cecilia Milano de Tomasel, Diana H. Wall and Elizabeth A. H. Pilon-Smits
Soil Syst. 2019, 3(3), 47; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems3030047 - 28 Jul 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2711
Abstract
Elemental hyperaccumulation protects plants from many aboveground herbivores. Little is known about effects of hyperaccumulation on belowground herbivores or their ecological interactions. To examine effects of plant selenium (Se) hyperaccumulation on nematode root herbivory, we investigated spatial distribution and speciation of Se in [...] Read more.
Elemental hyperaccumulation protects plants from many aboveground herbivores. Little is known about effects of hyperaccumulation on belowground herbivores or their ecological interactions. To examine effects of plant selenium (Se) hyperaccumulation on nematode root herbivory, we investigated spatial distribution and speciation of Se in hyperaccumulator roots using X-ray microprobe analysis, and effects of root Se concentration on root-associated nematode communities. Perennial hyperaccumulators Stanleya pinnata and Astragalus bisulcatus, collected from a natural seleniferous grassland contained 100–1500 mg Se kg−1 root dry weight (DW). Selenium was concentrated in the cortex and epidermis of hyperaccumulator roots, with lower levels in the stele. The accumulated Se consisted of organic (C-Se-C) compounds, indistinguishable from methyl-selenocysteine. The field-collected roots yielded 5–400 nematodes g−1 DW in Baermann funnel extraction, with no correlation between root Se concentration and nematode densities. Even roots containing > 1000 mg Se kg−1 DW yielded herbivorous nematodes. However, greenhouse-grown S. pinnata plants treated with Se had fewer total nematodes than those without Se. Thus, while root Se hyperaccumulation may protect plants from non-specialist herbivorous nematodes, Se-resistant nematode taxa appear to associate with hyperaccumulators in seleniferous habitats, and may utilize high-Se hyperaccumulator roots as food source. These findings give new insight into the ecological implications of plant Se (hyper)accumulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nematodes in Soil Systems)
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16 pages, 994 KiB  
Article
Sensitivity of Nematode Community Analysis to Agricultural Management Practices and Inoculation with Local Effective Microorganisms in the Southeastern United States
by Laura Ney, Dorcas Franklin, Kishan Mahmud, Miguel Cabrera, Dennis Hancock, Mussie Habteselassie, Quint Newcomer, Subash Dahal and Anish Subedi
Soil Syst. 2019, 3(2), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems3020041 - 14 Jun 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5294
Abstract
In order to ensure a soil system’s sustained ability to carry out ecosystem services, indicators that assess soil health are needed. We examined the capacity of nematode maturity index (MI), structure index (SI), enrichment index (EI), and trophic groups as measures of soil [...] Read more.
In order to ensure a soil system’s sustained ability to carry out ecosystem services, indicators that assess soil health are needed. We examined the capacity of nematode maturity index (MI), structure index (SI), enrichment index (EI), and trophic groups as measures of soil health, by determining soil nematodes’ sensitivity to cropping systems: rotation, perturbation, fertilization, and inoculation with local effective microorganisms (LEM). Plots were managed for two years under different rotations, annual ryegrass/fallow (ARF) and cereal rye/edamame soybean (CRS). In the third year of the study, all of the plots were managed exactly the same as a wheat/edamame rotation. Data were collected in both winter and summer of this year. In all three years, three inoculant treatments (LEM, False-LEM and No inoculate) were applied. In CRS plots, which received the most tillage and fertilization, there were greater SI values in soils that received LEM application. Nematode community structure described by each MI, SI, and EI were sensitive enough to reflect changes due to differences in soil management practices from previous years. Principal components analysis confirmed that nitrogen mineralization is an important measure to include when using nematode community analysis in the development of a soil health index. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nematodes in Soil Systems)
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