Responses of root-feeding nematodes (Helicotylenchus spp.) to local and non-local populations of the host plant Ammophila arenaria

Abstract

The root-feeding nematode community of wild plants may vary throughout their natural range. Little is known about how the variation of wild plants along their range affects their relationship with root-feeding nematodes. In the present study, we examined local and non-local combinations of host plants and root-feeding nematodes to test the hypothesis that nematode reproduction is favoured by local hosts. In two indoor experiments, we exposed populations of the wild dune grass Ammophila arenaria from northern and southern European coastal sand dunes to plant parasitic nematode species (Helicotylenchus spp.) from those same geographical origins. First, we used the southern nematode species to determine whether the effect of a local versus a non-local host may depend on nematode density. Then, in a cross-inoculation experiment we investigated how both nematode species performed with their local, as compared to the non-local hosts.