In 1992 a Concerted Action Programme (CAP) was initiated by Peter Sijmons with the purpose of intensifying collaborations between 16 European laboratories working on plant-parasitic nematodes. The four-year programme entitled `Resistance mechanisms against plant-parasitic nematodes' focused on molecular aspects of the interaction between sedentary nematodes and plants on the model system Arabidopsis and on novel resistance strategies. Funding was provided mainly for exchange visits between collaborating laboratories and for the organization of annual meetings. During the last annual meeting which was held in May 1996 in Toledo, Spain, Carmen Fenoll initiated the production of this volume. The book presents a series of up-to-date reviews, each written by one of the participating laboratories, which include the scientific progress achieved in the frame of this CAP but are by no means limited in scope to this work.

Inhalt
Prologue.- Root Parasitic Nematodes: An Overview.- A: Cellular and Molecular Aspects of the Interaction.- Root Anatomy and Development, the Basis for Nematode Parasitism.- Plant Signals in Nematode Hatching and Attraction.- Invasion and Migration Behaviour of Sedentary Nematodes.- The Biology of Giant Cells.- The Structure of Syncytia.- Nematode Secretions.- Physiology of Nematode Feeding and Feeding Sites.- Cell Cycle Regulation in Nematode Feeding Sites.- Regulation of Gene Expression in Feeding Sites.- B: Natural Resistance.- Natural Resistance: The Assessment of Variation in Virulence in Biological and Molecular Terms.- Genetic and Molecular Strategies for the Cloning of (A)Virulence Genes in Sedentary Plant-Parasitic Nematodes.- Breeding for Nematode Resistance in Sugarbeet: A Molecular Approach.- Resistance to Root-Knot Nematodes in Tomato.- Biochemistry of Plant Defence Responses to Nematode Infection.- C: Engineered Resistance.- Engineering Resistance Against Plant Parasitic Nematodes Using Antt-Nematode Genes.- Engineering Plant Nematode Resistance by Antifeedants.- Anti-Feeding Structure Approaches to Nematode Resistance.- Towards Planitbody-Medlated Resistance Against Nematodes.- Epilogue.- Authors.