
PhD defence
Deciphering the role of auxin and cytokinin in plant-nematode parasitism
Summary
This research looked at what role hormones have when plants are infected with parasitic worms (nematodes). It focusses on the hormones auxin and cytokinin and determines when and where they are active during infection. It further looks into how nematodes manipulate plants with hormones and the effect thereof. This information gives us a better understanding of how these worms cause such devastating crop losses and provides a basis for the development of new methods to combat these parasites.