Plant signals differentially affect rhizosphere nematode populations

Plant health is significantly affected by the surrounding microbiome. While previous studies have progressed our understanding of how plants shape bacterial and fungal taxa in the rhizosphere, very little is known about plant signals shaping the nematode community in the rhizosphere. Using 18S rRNA metabarcoding and a secondary metabolite mutant defective in benzoxazinoid biosynthesis, Sikder et al. (2021) showed that plants can produce signals that selectively enrich or deter specific nematode taxa in and around their roots. This points to an active plant strategy to influence rhizosphere nematode populations through chemical signalling.