Unprecedented genetic diversity discovered in plant-parasitic nematodes

A recent discovery from the Crop Science Centre has revealed unprecedented genetic variation in plant-parasitic nematodes. This research, published in the journal Cell Genomics, helps us better understand how these tiny but destructive parasitic worms evolved.

The team behind this research, led by Dr Sonawala, discovered variation in the proteins essential for potato cyst nematodes to infect their host. While previous observations of the extreme variability within these proteins earned them the name HYPer-variable (HYP) effectors, this research presents new information about the extent and nature of this variation that was not possible before due to the limitations of earlier sequencing methods.

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• Unprecedented genetic diversity discovered in plant-parasitic nematodes

Reference: Sonawala U. et al., 'A gene with a thousand alleles: The hyper-variable effectors of plant-parasitic nematodes.', Cell Genomics, May 2024, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xgen.2024.100580

Image: Confocal 3D projection of DAPI- and Phalloidin-labelling. Image credit: Dr Alexis Sperling.