PHYSIOLOGY Changes in Cotton Root Proteins Correlated with Resistance to Root Knot Nematode Development

The southern root knot nematode is a serious pest of cotton. Previous research had produced germplasm (Aub634 source) essentially immune to this pest. The challenge has been to devise strategies for efficient incorporation of this source of resistance into commercial cotton cultivars. Toward this goal we are now conducting research into the developmental genetics of resistance to this serious pest. Although the resistant cotton lines pose no barrier to initial infection by root knot nematode, nematode development is arrested soon after root penetration. Results presented in this report show that a specific protein is produced in the resistant cotton roots at about the same time that development of the nematode is shut down. The tempora