Caenorhabditis elegans as a model for plant-parasitic nematodes

Abstract

Many studies on aspects of the biology of plant-parasitic nematodes can be facilitated by using the information and resources available for the model species Caenorhabditis elegans. Comparative genomics of shared processes can provide insights into plant-parasitic nematode biology that would otherwise be intractable. In this article we consider some of the resources available for C. elegans. We describe the practical utility of C. elegans and the use of available information to facilitate the characterisation of neurobiological processes in plant-parasitic nematodes.Model organisms, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster and Arabidopsis thaliana, share a number of common characteristics, including a short life cycle, small adult size, easy maintenance in large numbers and tractability. Their simplicity of structure, in terms of both anatomy and genome organisation often lends itself readily to investigation (Bolker, 1995). Many basic biological processes are shared between model and target organisms. Having identified genes, proteins or processes of interest in a model organism it is then possible to study the target organism comparatively. Model organisms are often more amenable to technical manipulation than the target organisms. These factors lead to an increasing wealth of information and technical resources that pertain to certain model species. The free-living nematode, C. elegans, has become the model organism of choice both for other nematode species and for higher metazoans. The small size and obligate biotrophic life cycles of plant-parasitic nematodes make them refractory to many biological and genetic studies. Plant-parasitic nematodes and C. elegans share many similarities despite their disparate modes of existence. In certain areas of investigation, C. elegans can be used as a powerful model for the study of plantparasitic nematodes. Biology of plant-parasitic nematodesPlant-parasitic nematodes comprise more than 50 genera, primarily within the orders Tylenchida and Dory-

The genome and life-stage specific transcriptomes of Globodera pallida elucidate key aspects of plant parasitism by a cyst nematode

“…Extensive genetic and genomic resources and a powerful molecular genetic toolkit make the free-living nematode C. elegans an important model system for studying a range of aspects of plant parasitic nematode biology [39,40]. Supporting this, the majority of G. pallida gene families contain C. elegans homologs (4,774 or 71%), although only 2,044 G. pallida genes have a one-one ortholog in C. elegans .…”