The genome and lifestage-specific transcriptomes of a plant-parasitic nematode and its host reveal susceptibility genes involved in trans-kingdom synthesis of vitamin B5

The work at University of Bonn was supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany (BMBF) (Grant 031A326B to FMWG) and by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (Grant SI1739/3–1 and SI1739/5-1 to S.S.). M.S.H. was supported by a fellowship from German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD; Grant 91525252)). The work at University of California Davis was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Grant IOS-1954929) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) (Grant 20-3994). Work on plant-parasitic nematodes at the University of Cambridge is supported by DEFRA license 125034/359149/3, and funded by BBSRC grants BB/R011311/1, BB/N021908/1, and BB/S006397/1. C.P. received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 882941. P.T. was supported by the University of St Andrews Bioinformatics Unit, funded by Wellcome Trust ISSF awards 105621/Z/14/Z and 204821/Z/16/Z. Work at Iowa State University was supported by Hatch and State of Iowa funds and a grant from the North Central Soybean Research Program. J.L.L.-T. was supported by an NWO domain Applied and Engineering Sciences VENI grant (14250) and a Wageningen University & Research Experimental Plant Sciences strategic funds grant. M.G.S. was supported by NWO domain Applied and Engineering Sciences VENI grant (17282).Plant-parasitic nematodes are a major threat to crop production in all agricultural systems. The scarcity of classical resistance genes highlights a pressing need to find new ways to develop nematode-resistant germplasm. Here, we sequence and assemble a high-quality phased genome of the model cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii to provide a platform for the first system-wide dual analysis of host and parasite gene expression over time, covering all major parasitism stages. Analysis of the hologenome of the plant-nematode infection site identified metabolic pathways that were incomplete in the parasite but complemented by the host. Using a combination of bioinformatic, genetic, and biochemical approaches, we show that a highly atypical completion of vitamin B5 biosynthesis by the parasitic animal, putatively enabled by a horizontal gene transfer from a bacterium, is required for full pathogenicity. Knockout of either plant-encoded or now nematode-encoded steps in the pathway significantly reduces parasitic success. Our experiments establish a reference for cyst nematodes, further our understanding of the evolution of plant-parasitism by nematodes, and show that congruent differential expression of metabolic pathways in the infection hologenome represents a new way to find nematode susceptibility genes. The approach identifies genome-editing-amenable targets for future development of nematode-resistant crops.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe