Genetic and spatial biology of viruses in plant-feeding nematodes

Background

Plant parasitic nematodes (PPN) cause yield losses to diverse important crop species and counteractive measures are only partially successful. Recently the first viruses that infect PPN were discovered, presenting new research opportunities to understand and halt PPN. A critical step in this process is to identify how PPN respond to viruses.

Project description

This project will study viruses of the beet cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii and the potato cyst nematode Globodera rostochiensis because of the scientific importance and economic damage caused by these two species. Transmission routes and fitness effects will be tested for eight different viruses infecting H. schachtii and G. pallida. Second, viral infections will be located at the cellular level using molecular methods such as smFISH. Cellular localization is expected to provide additional insight into transmission routes (e.g., for vertical transmission, the virus is expected in the reproductive tract) and potential fitness effects. Third, local antiviral responses will be studied by spatial sRNA- and mRNA sequencing (tomo-seq) to gain transcriptional PPN-virus insights. Finally, key genes in the antiviral RNAi pathway of PPN will be mapped by studying PPN strains with distinct antiviral RNAi profiles. For example, earlier results indicate variation exists in the antiviral RNAi response between two G. rostochiensis isolates and this will be explored further in the project. The two G. rostochiensis isolates carry genetically variable RNAi homologs of the model nematode C. elegans that will be the initial target genes. Together, this fundamental research into the molecular understanding of PPN-virus interactions will aid future research on the use of viruses for PPN gene delivery or in a biocontrol setting.