The nematodes selected for further study will have unusual morphology or unreported host-parasite relationships. Project Methods Populations received from cooperating county agricultural extension agents and turfgrass managers will be examined for unique morphological and physiological characters. Findings will be presented at workshops, field days, and meetings of turfgrass managers.

Dissemination: Results of findings will be published in scientific journals, newsletters, and trade journals. Training of a graduate student in the agricultural sciences. Publication of a monograph of nematodes parasitizing turfgrasses. Collection of root-knot and cyst nematode populations parasitizing turfgrasses. Consulting growers and turfgrass superintendents on the importance of nematodes parasitizing turfgrass. Presentation of findings at conferences, symposia and workshops. Outputs: Conducting and analyzing experiments and assessment of morphological and molecular taxonomic data. To utilize molecular markers - the isozymes of esterases and two ITS regions of rDNA, for root-knot and cyst nematodes parasitizing grasses, in order to further characterize new species of root-knot and cyst nematodes found in the mid-Atlantic Region of the U.S. To taxonomically characterize the root-knot (Meloidogyne spp.) and cyst nematodes (Heterodera and Punctodera spp.) parasitizing grasses to discover new species, new host associations, and new geographical occurrences in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. Goals / Objectives Goals and Objectives: 1. In addition new varieties of turfgrass may be evaluated for resistance to these species and effective control tactics may be formulated. These descriptions may stimulate much needed research about their affect on the health and vigor of turfgrass.

Therefore, these populations will be described as new species. In preliminary findings, we have already discovered several populations that do not fit with the description of any known species. The purpose of this project is to collect root-knot and cyst nematodes from the mid-Atlantic region and to indentify them using morphological and molecular techniques. However, recent findings, in Europe and at the Turfgrass Research Center at Blacksburg, VA, have indicated that relatively low populations of these nematodes may cause significant injury.

At the present, they are thought not to be extremely important. The nematode species attacking turfgrass and causing significant damage have not been thoroughly investigated, especially the root-knot and cyst nematodes. Because the ability of RKN to establish feeding sites and reproduce was markedly reduced in the mutant lines, we propose that RKN have adapted at least part of the symbiont-response pathway to enhance their parasitic ability.Non Technical Summary Identification of plant-parasitic nematodes is necessary for efficient economic control to minimize the effect of these pests. Aspects of the host responses to RKN were altered or abolished by mutations in the NF receptor genes nfr1, nfr5, and symRK, suggesting that RKN produce a molecule with functional equivalence to NF, which we name NemF. A similar response to RKN was seen in tomato. Azide-killed nematodes do not produce this signal. Remarkably, plant-parasitic root-knot nematodes (RKN) invoke a cytoskeletal response identical to that seen in response to NF and induce root-hair waviness and branching in legume root hairs via a signal able to function at a distance. Using transgenically tagged microtubules and actin, we dynamically profiled the spatiotemporal changes in the cytoskeleton of living Lotus japonicus root hairs, which precede root-hair deformation and reflect one of the earliest host responses to NF. The symbiosis responsible for nitrogen fixation in legume root nodules is initiated by rhizobial signaling molecules.

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