The Role of Lipid Signalling in Regulating Plant–Nematode Interactions

Abstract Fatty acids (FAs) are important source of reserve energy and essential components of membrane lipids in all living organisms. In plants, FA-dependent signalling pathways play a key role in defense against pests and pathogens. Recent discoveries demonstrate more direct roles for FAs and their oxidation products in inducing various modes of plant defenses by modulating the basal, effector-triggered, and systemic immunity in plants. However, despite the widely recognized biological significance of FA-derived signals in regulating defense and pathogenicity processes in various plant–pathogen systems, the nature of lipid signals in a crosstalk between plants and nematodes has just began to be studied. This chapter summarizes the current knowledge of the involvement of FAs, FA-derived oxylipins and enzymes catalyzing FA metabolism in regulating plant response to nematode infection. The recent evidence implicating oxylipins, especially the phytohormone jasmonic acid, one of the best studied oxylipins, in either successful defense or susceptibility following nematode inoculation is the focus of this discussion. To further demonstrate the existence of lipid-mediated signal crosstalk between plants and nematodes, we present the case of a group of the nematode's effectors that facilitate infection by modifying host lipid-based defenses. This review will focus on signals related to FA-signalling that govern both resistance and susceptibility in plants against parasitic nematodes as well as on a group of effector genes that might interfere with the host lipid-based defense.