title: Description of a Unique, Complex Feeding Socket Caused by the Putative Primitive Root-Knot Nematode, Meloidogyne kikuyensis.
abstract: Meloidogyne kikuyensis produces unique galls that form on one side of the root resembling nitrogen-fixing nodules that are produced on legumes in response to infection by Rhizobium and related bacteria. The gall caused by this root-knot nematode is made up of a complex feeding socket composed of several giant cells that are ramified with xylem vessels extending perpendicular from the vascular cylinder. The anterior portion of the second-stage juvenile, which develops into an adult, plugs into this unique feeding socket. The socket and the surrounding parenchyma together form a gall that is very different in morphology from those typically caused by other species of root-knot nematodes. Even though M. kikuyensis was considered to be a primitive species because of its low chromosome count, the complexity of its feeding site and minor plant damage suggests a more derived systematic position.
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Eisenback
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Dodge
keywords: Rhizobium; SEM; feeding site; gall; giant cell; histology; host-parasitic relationship; morphology; nodule; sugarcane; systematics