The Plant Sesquiterpene Nootkatone Efficiently Reduces Heterodera schachtii Parasitism by Activating Plant Defense

Plant parasitic nematodes, including the beet cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii, constitute a devastating problem for crops worldwide. The limited availability of sustainable management options illustrates the need for new eco-friendly control means. Plant metabolites represent an invaluable source of active compounds for the discovery of such novel antagonistic agents. Here, we evaluated the impact of eight plant terpenoids on the H. schachtii parasitism of Arabidopsis thaliana. None of the metabolites affected the plant development (5 or 10 ppm). Nootkatone decreased the number of adult nematodes on A. thaliana to 50%, with the female nematodes being smaller compared to the control. In contrast, three other terpenoids increased the parasitism and/or female size. We discovered that nootkatone considerably decreased the number of nematodes that penetrated A. thaliana roots, but neither affected the nematode viability or attraction to plant roots, nor triggered the production of plant reactive oxygen species or changed the plant’s sesquiterpene profile. However, we demonstrated that nootkatone led to a significant upregulation of defense-related genes involved in salicylic and jasmonic acid pathways. Our results indicate that nootkatone is a promising candidate to be developed into a novel plant protection agent acting as a stimulator of plant immunity against parasitic nematodes.