Full-Length Transcriptome Analysis of Soybean Cyst Nematode (Heterodera glycines) Reveals an Association of Behaviors in Response to Attractive pH and Salt Solutions with Activation of Transmembrane Receptors, Ion Channels, and Ca²⁺ Transporters

Abstract

Soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines Ichinohe), a devastating pathogen in soybean, was chosen as a model system to investigate nematode behavior and gene expression changes in response to acidic and basic pH and salt signals (pH 4.5, 5.25, 8.6, and 10 and NaCl) through full-length transcriptome sequencing of 18 samples. An average of 4.36 Gbp of clean reads per sample were generated, and 3972 novel genes and 29,529 novel transcripts were identified. Sequence structural variation during or after transcription may be associated with the nematode's behavioral response. The functional analysis of 1817/4962 differentially expressed genes/transcripts showed that signal transduction pathways, including transmembrane receptors, ion channels, and Ca 2+ transporters, were activated, but pathways involved in nematode development (e.g., ribosome) and energy production (e.g., oxidative phosphorylation) were inhibited. A corresponding model was established. Our findings suggest that these receptors and ion channels might be potential targets for nematicides or drug discovery.