Abstract
Plant-parasitic nematodes secrete CLAVATA3 (CLV3)/ESR (CLE)-like proteins, which are suggested to function in the process of nematode infection. Here we examined the infection rate of root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita by using tomato, Solanum pennellii, S. peruvianum, and seven varieties of S. lycopersicum as host plants. S. lycopersicum variety Micro-Tom, S. pervianum, and S. pennellii showed obvious resistance to nematode infection. CLV3 receptors, CLV2 and CORYNE (CRN) / Suppressor of LLP1 2 (SOL2), are known to be responsible for nematode infection in Arabidopsis; therefore, we examined SNPs of putative CLV receptor sequences of CLV2, CRN/SOL2, CLV1, and RECEPTOR LIKE PROTEIN KINASE 2 (RPK2) in tomato to look for a potential contribution of CLV3 signaling in an Mi resistance gene-independent manner. We found many SNPs in the CLV receptors, which might be related to resistance to nematode infection in tomato.
