Abstract
BACKGROUND: Since the banning of chemical products used to control plant-parasitic nematode populations, the use of resistant plants has become the most effective management approach against the potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida. However, some populations, from experimental evolution setups and field samplings, are able to overcome these resistances. Herein, a transcriptomics approach was used to disentangle the mechanisms by which G. pallida adapts to the plant resistant factor GpaV(vrn), and to elucidate the functions involved in this adaptation. RESULTS: Differential gene expression analysis between virulent and avirulent lineages originating from experimental evolution experiments identified candidate genes involved in the adaptation to GpaV(vrn). GO enrichment analyses showed that virulent lineages up-regulated genes involved in cell wall destruction and stress response compared to avirulent lineages. In virulent lineages, a set of genes was up-regulated later in the parasitism stages and are thus potentially involved in adaptation. These genes encode effectors of the VAP and SPRYSEC families contributing to the suppression of plant immunity. CONCLUSION: These results will have a major impact on our understanding of the mechanisms by which nematodes adapt to resistant plants, and will contribute to identify effective and sustainable management strategies.