Horizontal gene transfer from bacteria has enabled the plant-parasitic nematode [i]Globodera pallida[/i] to feed on host-derived sucrose

Description

The evolution of plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) is unusual in that these organisms have acquired a range of genes from bacteria via horizontal gene transfer. The proteins encoded by most of these genes are involved in metabolism of various components of the plant cell wall during invasion of the host. Recent genome sequencing projects for PPN have shown that Glycolsyl Hydrolase Family 32 (GH32) sequences are present in several PPN species. These sequences are absent from almost all other animals. Here we show that the GH32 sequences from an economically important cyst nematode species, [i]Globodera pallida[/i], are functional invertases, they are expressed during feeding and are restricted in expression to the nematode digestive system. These data are consistent with a role in metabolizing host-derived sucrose. In addition, a detailed phylogenetic analysis shows that the GH32 sequences from PPN and those present in some insect species have distinct bacterial origins and do not therefore derive from a gene present in the last common ancestor of ecdysozoan species. Horizontal gene transfer has therefore played at least two critical roles in the evolution of PPN, enabling both invasion of the host and feeding on the main translocation carbohydrate of the plant.

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