■ Abstract This review examines the discovery of naturally occurring phytochemicals antagonistic toward plant-parasitic and other nematodes. Higher plants have yielded a broad spectrum of active compounds, including polythienyls, isothiocyanates, glucosinolates, cyanogenic glycosides, polyacetylenes, alkaloids, lipids, terpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, diterpenoids, quassinoids, steroids, triterpenoids, simple and complex phenolics, and several other classes. Many other antinematodal compounds have been isolated from biocontrol and other fungi. Natural products active against mammalian parasites can serve as useful sources of compounds for examination of activity against plant parasites. The agricultural utilization of phytochemicals, although currently uneconomic in many situations, offers tremendous potential.

Phytochemical based strategies for nematode control.

Fungi are an understudied, biotechnologically valuable group of organisms. Due to 
the immense range of habitats that fungi inhabit, and the consequent need to compete against a diverse array of other fungi, bacteria, and animals, fungi have developed numerous survival mechanisms. The unique attributes of fungi thus herald great promise for their application in biotechnology and industry. Moreover, fungi can be grown with relative ease, making production at scale viable. The search for fungal biodiversity, and the construction of a living fungi collection, both have incredible economic potential in locating organisms with novel industrial uses that will lead to novel products. This manuscript reviews fifty ways in which fungi can potentially be utilized as biotechnology. We provide notes and examples for each potential exploitation and give examples from our own work and the work of other notable researchers. We also provide a flow chart that can be used to convince funding bodies of the importance of fungi for biotechnological research and as potential products. Fungi have provided the world with penicillin, lovastatin, and other globally significant medicines, and they remain an untapped resource with enormous industrial potential.

The amazing potential of fungi: 50 ways we can exploit fungi industrially

Biological control of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita by Paecilomyces lilacinus strain 251

The optimal conditions required to market Trichoderma as a biocontrol agent against soilborne fungi and nematodes are discussed. These include a proper formulation, an efficient delivery system, and alternative methods for Trichoderma's application.

Evaluation of Trichoderma spp. as a Biocontrol Agent Against Soilborne Fungi and Plant-parasitic Nematodes in Israel

Life History and Genetic Strategies 1 Evolutionary ecology of the first fungi J.H. Andrews and R.F. Harris 2 Molecular approaches for studying fungi in the environment K. Brunner, S. Zeilinger and R.L. Mach Determinants of Fungal Communities 3 Disturbances in natural ecosystems: scaling from fungal diversity to ecosystem functioning S.J. Morris, C.F. Friese, and M.F. Allen 4 Fungal Responses to Disturbance: agriculture and forestry R.M. Miller and D.J. Lodge 5 Fungi and industrial pollutants G.M. Gadd 6 Fungi in extreme environments N. Magan 7 Biogeography and conservation E.J.M. Arnolds Fungal Interactions and Biological Control Strategies 8 Mycoparasitism and antagonism A. Viterbo, J. Inbar, Y. Hadar and I. Chet 9 Antagonism of plant parasitic nematodes by fungi S. Casas-Flores and A. Herrera-Estrella 10 Entomopathogenic Fungi and their role in Pest Control A.K. Charnley and S. A. Collins 11 Bacterial weapons of fungal destruction: Phyllosphere targeted biological control of plant pathogens W. G. Dilantha Fernando, R. Ramarathnam and T. de Kievit 12 Effects of animals grazing on fungi. T. McGonigle 13 Endophytic Fungi P. Bayman 14 Mycorrhizal fungi: their habitats and nutritional strategies M. Girlanda, S. Perotto and P. Bonfante 15 Applications of fungal ecology in the search for new bioactive fungal products J.B. Gloer Decomposition, Biomass and Industrial Applications 16 Nutrient cycling by saprophytic fungi interrestrial habitats J. Dighton 17 Decomposition of plant litter by fungi in marine and freshwater ecosystems M.O. Gessner, V. Gulis, K. Kuehn, E. Chauvet and K. Suberkropp 18 Degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose polymers by fungi C. Gamauf, B. Metz and B. Seiboth

Environmental and Microbial Relationships

The nematotoxic activity, efficient against plant-parasitic species, found in the culture filtrates of two Hyphomycetes: Paecilomyces lilacinus (nematophagous fungus) and Trichoderma longibrachiatum was characterized. Purification was performed by distillation and liquid chromatography and identification by gas-chromatography coupled with a DCI system (dynamic headspace). The active substance has been identified as acetic acid which, produced abundantly during fungal growth in liquid medium (up to 0.044 mols of CH 3 COOH per culture filtrate litre), inhibited movement of infesting juvenile nematodes. These results were confirmed by comparative studies using the commercial molecule as for the 1 H NMR as the biological tests. The toxic activity appeared only when the carboxylic function was in its undissociated form, hence the real interest of pH when studying this nematicidal activity. A study of the literature confirmed the selective permeability of different cuticle zones of nematodes for non-charged substances (non-polar).

M. Ponchet

Papers

Acetic Acid: a Selective Nematicidal Metabolite From Culture Filtrates of Paecilomyces Lilacinus (Thom) Samson and Trichoderma Longibrachiatum Rifai