Nataniel D. Jablonski, Faith M. Fishburn, Lindsay L. Schulz, Harpreet Kaur, Joseph C. Kuhl, Fangming Xiao, Louise-Marie Dandurand, Cynthia A. Gleason, Allan B. Caplan, Organic acids produced by Solanum sisymbriifolium contribute to its resistance against nematodes, Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology, Volume 143, 2026, 103145, ISSN 0885-5765, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103145.

Artificial Intelligence-Based Tools for Automated Genus-Level Identification of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes. Sudha G. C. Upadhaya, Cynthia Gleason, Inga A. Zasada, Sam Chavoshi, Arjun Upadhaya, El Hassan Mayad, David L. Wheeler, and Timothy C. Paulitz. Phytopathology® 2026 116:5, 796-803 10.1094/PHYTO-10-25-0330-R

Gleason, Cynthia and Villar-Luna, Edgar, 9781836990413.0018, CABI Books, doi:10.1079/9781836990413.0018, (511–539), CABI, Plant-nematode Interactions, (2025)

The Glucan Synthase-like 5 (GSL05) gene in potato is homologous to the Arabidopsis GSL05 that has a role in defense-related callose deposition. The role of GSL05-mediated callose deposition in potato roots during root-knot nematode Meloidogyne hapla infection was investigated. Silencing GSL05 in potato resulted in reduced elicitor-induced callose deposition in roots. When StGSL05 knockdown plants were inoculated with nematodes, more second-stage juveniles (J2s) successfully penetrated the roots and formed galls, suggesting a weakened callose-based physical barrier against nematode invasion and supporting the hypothesis that StGSL05 contributes to basal defense.

Bali, S., Sobczak, M., Peng, H. et al. Solanum tuberosum glucan synthase-like 05 is involved in root-knot nematode Meloidogyne hapla parasitism. Sci Rep 16, 3632 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-33647-7

The pesticidal activity of Solanum sisymbriifolium is attributed to a range of plant secondary metabolites including glycoalkaloids that can be concentrated from plant tissues. While the pesticidal activity of S. sisymbriifolium is documented, the chemical composition of plant tissue and plant extracts are still poorly understood. Plant material is inherently complex, comprising a wide spectrum of metabolites with varying degrees of polarity. Therefore, appropriate sample preparation, especially drying, is crucial for true representation of plant chemistry and for achieving high isolation efficiency of biopesticidal active compounds. Hence, the objective of this research was to evaluate the impacts of different postharvest drying techniques (room drying, freeze drying, and oven drying) on the metabolomic profiles of S. sisymbriifolium extracts.

Hashim Ibrahim, Louise-Marie Dandurand, Inna Popova, Impact of postharvest drying methods on metabolite composition of Solanum sisymbriifolium extract, Journal of Natural Pesticide Research, Volume 14, 2025, 100167, ISSN 2773-0786, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.napere.2025.100167.

The root-knot nematode Meloidogyne chitwoodi is a major problem for potato farmers in the western U.S., reducing crop yield and quality. These nematodes produce special proteins, called effectors, in their esophageal glands, which help them infect plants. Since these glands are the main source of effectors, we isolated them from juvenile nematodes and analyzed their gene expression using our newly annotated M. chitwoodi genome. This helped us identify genes specific to the glands. We found 125 potential effector genes. One of them, called McGland26, was highly active before the nematode started feeding. When we introduced this gene into Arabidopsis thaliana plants, they became more susceptible to nematodes. However, expression of the effector didn’t seem to weaken the plant’s immune system. This suggests McGland26 is not suppressing plant defenses and has a different role in helping the nematode with successful infection. Overall, our approach helped us identify key effectors more efficiently, which could lead to better ways to manage nematode infestations in the future.

Teixeira M, Ko I, Bali S, Vieira P, Maier TR, Baum TJ, et al. (2025) Genome reannotation and gland-specific transcriptome analysis identify new effector candidates in Meloidogyne chitwoodi. PLoS Pathog 21(11): e1013075. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1013075

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) of the United States (Idaho, Oregon, and Washington) is the most important hop-producing region both nationally and internationally. However, little research on plant-parasitic nematodes has been conducted in the region. In this study, a total of 185 soil samples representing 93 hopyards were collected in 2021 and 2022 to characterize the plant-parasitic nematodes associated with this crop in the PNW.

Occurrence of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes in Pacific Northwest Hopyards. Lester A. Núñez-Rodríguez, Elisabeth Darling, Muhammad Usman, Catherine Wram, Megan Kitner, Emmanuel Sánchez-Tovar, David H. Gent, Marisol Quintanilla-Tornel, and Inga A. Zasada. Plant Health Progress 2025 26:4, 491-498 10.1094/PHP-01-25-0011-RS.

Early and accurate identification and quantification of plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) is crucial for their effective control. Although valuable, the current techniques for identifying PPN, such as morphology and molecular marker-based methods, can be time and resource-intensive. This project aims to develop and validate cutting-edge computer vision tools for automated, accurate, and reproducible PPN detection. To achieve this goal, we captured microscopic images of three plant-parasitic nematode genera of importance in potato: root lesion (Pratylenchus spp.), root-knot (Meloidogyne spp.), and stubby root (Paratrichodorus and Trichodorus spp.). The captured images (n = 1,779) were preprocessed, converted to grayscale, annotated, and randomly split into two datasets: 75% for training and 25% for testing. An object segmentation algorithm, YOLOv8-Seg, which predicts each pixel in the image, was trained and achieved an overall accuracy of 88.7% in identifying nematode genera on previously unseen images. The resulting model had high precision (0.95), recall (0.93), and F1 score (0.94), with a mean average precision (mAP) of 0.80. The model will be trained on an expanded dataset with additional images and a control group to enhance accuracy and generalizability. The preliminary results highlight the potential of artificial intelligence-based tools in identifying PPN, paving the way for the long-term goal of developing automated detection and quantification systems for plant pathogens. Such tools will allow stakeholders to make faster and more informed crop protection decisions.

Upadhaya, S.G.C., Gleason, C., Zasada, I., Chavoshi, S., Wheeler, D. and Paulitz, T.C., 2024, November. Using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify plant-parasitic nematodes genera found in potato production fields. PHYTOPATHOLOGY. 114(11): 36.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the major crops in Africa with the potential of improving food and nutritional security. Potato cyst nematodes (PCN), Globodera pallida and G. rostochiensis have more recently been reported as a new pest challenging production of the crop in the region. This review analyses development and selection of PCN resistant cultivars in Africa as a PCN control strategy with major focus on sources of host resistance in existing cultivars. This review proposed identification and utilization of resistant cultivars already adopted by farmers as an immediate strategy for PCN control while waiting for the development of new resistant cultivars as a long-term solution to the problem.

Onditi, J.O. and Whitworth, J.L. 2025. Status of Potato Cyst Nematode (PCN) Globodera pallida and G. rostochiensis Resistance Breeding in Africa. Am. J. Potato Res. 102, 13–32.

Potato cyst nematodes (PCN), especially Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida, have become significant challenges for potato production in Africa. G. rostochiensis is the most widespread, found in eight countries, while G. pallida has been reported in four. The review discusses current PCN management strategies and recommends focusing efforts on the most prevalent species and pathotypes. Expanding surveillance and using locally tested, integrated control methods are key to effectively managing PCN in African potato crops.

Onditi, J.O., and Whitworth, J.L. 2025. Potato Cyst Nematodes (PCN), Globodera Rostochiensis and G. Pallida as a New Challenging Problem of Potato Production in Africa. Am. J. Potato Res. 102, 1–12.