ArticleNature biotechnology2020
Engineering bacterial symbionts of nematodes improves their biocontrol potential to counter the western corn rootworm.
Article in Nature biotechnology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 25 papers.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Synthetic Biology of Plants and Microbes for Agriculture, Environment, and Future Applications.Chemical reviews · 2026Review
- Genetic architecture of resistance to plant secondary metabolites in Photorhabdus entomopathogenic bacteria.BMC genomics · 2025Article
- Synthetic communities of maize root bacteria interact and redirect benzoxazinoid metabolization.mSphere · 2025Article
- Engineered Endosymbionts that Modulate Primary Macrophage Function and Attenuate Tumor Growth by Shifting the Tumor Microenvironment.ACS applied bio materials · 2025Article
- Description of Heterorhabditis americana n. sp. (Rhabditida, Heterorhabditidae), a new entomopathogenic nematode species isolated in North America.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- A Review of Biological and Sustainable Management Approaches forVeterinary sciences · 2025Review
- Photorhabdus viridis sp. nov. Isolated from Heterorhabditis zealandica Entomopathogenic Nematodes.Current microbiology · 2024Article
- Systematics and phylogeny of the entomopathogenic nematobacterial complexes Steinernema-Xenorhabdus and Heterorhabditis-Photorhabdus.Zoological letters · 2024Review
- Photorhabdus africana sp. nov. isolated from Heterorhabditis entomopathogenic nematodes.Current microbiology · 2024Article
- Enhancing mass production of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora: influence of different bacterial symbionts (Photorhabdus spp.) and inoculum age on dauer juvenile recovery.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2023Article
- Bacterial tolerance to host-exuded specialized metabolites structures the maize root microbiome.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Sequestration of cucurbitacins from cucumber plants byJournal of pest science · 2023Article
- Entomopathogenic potential of bacteria associated with soil-borne nematodes and insect immune responses to their infection.PloS one · 2023Article
- Natural products from Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus: mechanisms and impacts.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2022Review
- Metabolization and sequestration of plant specialized metabolites in insect herbivores: Current and emerging approaches.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Review
- Potential of Oscheius tipulae nematodes as biological control agents against Ceratitis capitata.PloS one · 2022Article
- Sustainable strategies for management of the "false root-knot nematode"Frontiers in plant science · 2022Review
- Article
- Chemical Cues from Entomopathogenic Nematodes Vary Across Three Species with Different Foraging Strategies, Triggering Different Behavioral Responses in Prey and Competitors.Journal of chemical ecology · 2021Article
- Plant signals differentially affect rhizosphere nematode populations.Journal of experimental botany · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
15 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The western corn rootworm (WCR) decimates maize crops worldwide. One potential way to control this pest is treatment with entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) that harbor bacterial symbionts that are pathogenic to insects. However, WCR larvae sequester benzoxazinoid secondary metabolites that are produced by maize and use them to increase their resistance to the nematodes and their symbionts. Here we report that experimental evolution and selection for bacterial symbionts that are resistant to benzoxazinoids improve the ability of a nematode-symbiont pair to kill WCR larvae. We isolated five Photorhabdus symbionts from different nematodes and increased their benzoxazinoid resistance through experimental evolution. Benzoxazinoid resistance evolved through multiple mechanisms, including a mutation in the aquaporin-like channel gene aqpZ. We reintroduced benzoxazinoid-resistant Photorhabdus strains into their original EPN hosts and identified one nematode-symbiont pair that was able to kill benzoxazinoid-sequestering WCR larvae more efficiently. Our results suggest that modification of bacterial symbionts might provide a generalizable strategy to improve biocontrol of agricultural pests.
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