Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Cell and Molecular Biology
Session: 2
Room: Exhibit Hall
Sydney Lawrence - Fort Valley State University
Co-Author(s): Raquel Rocha and Melissa Mitchum, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.
Root-knot nematodes (RKN), Meloidogyne spp., are microscopic roundworms that infect a wide range of plants, such as soybeans and eggplants. RKN is one of the most damaging plant pathogens worldwide and is consistently found in several temperate and tropical climates. These nematodes damage crops by producing effector proteins in specialized esophageal gland cells and secreting them into the host using a hollow, protrusible stylet. Effectors will subsequently suppress the plant defenses and modify host cells allowing the nematode to ingest nutrients to support their development. Specifically, for Meloidogyne species, these effectors are produced by the nematode to modify the plant root physiology to induce the formation of giant cells and maintain specialized feeding sites that serve as the sole source of nutrients. Here, we aimed to localize the expression of seven effector gene candidates in female nematodes and pre-parasitic juveniles. For that, we performed in situ hybridization using DNA probes complementary to the nematode effector mRNA of interest. The results from this research determined the location of two effector candidates expressed within the secretory esophageal gland cells of adult females. One of these genes also showed positive expression in the esophageal cells of juveniles. Furthermore, the identification of new RKN effectors might yield novel targets of control to manage the damage caused by the nematode in crops of economic importance.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): This study was carried out with the support from UGA- FVSU Rising Scholars Research Internship Program, NSF HRD #2011903, DUE-S-STEM #1834046, and DoE MSEIP P120A200016 grants awarded at Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA.
Faculty Advisor: Seema Dhir, Dhirs@fvsu.edu
Role: My involvement in the research included designing the experiments, collecting the data, and preparing the data for poster presentation.