Neuronal Basis of Host-Finding and Feeding in Plant-Parasitic Nematodes

The success of plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) depends on the integration of sensory cues and neuromuscular motor outputs, leading to behaviors such as hatching, host-finding, locomotion, feeding, and reproduction. Although the nervous system is often a target for control, much of our knowledge of PPN nervous system structure and function has been inferred from the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. However, the past two decades have seen substantial advances in our understanding of PPN nervous systems. These suggest that although many features of PPN neurobiology are conserved across nematodes, the behavioral repertoire of PPNs also requires distinct neuronal, structural, and functional properties that have diverged from their free-living ancestors. This review focuses on host-finding and feeding behaviors and their underlying neuronal basis; however, the diversity of PPNs implies there is much to be discovered in the rich repertoire of PPN behaviors.