Recently, plant hormones that are important in plant growth have been reported to also control RKN gall development. This makes the protection of plants from RKN particularly difficult. Compare to other soil nematodes that feed on bacteria, RKN have evolved to parasitize plants by spending the majority of their lives within plants while evading predators. On the other hand, defense mechanisms against RKN infection also evolved in plants. It appears the struggle between plants and plant-parasitic nematodes will continue. By delineating the molecular mechanism of plant-parasitic nematode infections, it may be possible to further solve the mysteries around the evolution of plant-animal interactions.
