Abstract

Although Paecilomyces lilacinus is generally considered to be both a soil fungus and a nematode-egg parasitic fungus, it has been reported that it can also colonise roots and protect the root surface from root-knot nematode attack. When eight crop plant species were challenged with P. lilacinus strain Bioact251, fungal hyphae were never detected within roots, though occasionally colonies arose from the root surface. Examination of the behaviour of P. lilacinus hyphae on root and nematode egg surfaces were compared and found to be very different, with P. lilacinus behaving like a parasitic fungus when growing on a nematode egg but not when on a root surface.