Diversity at the HYP1 locus in potato cyst nematodes does not result from developmentally-programmed somatic mutations
- 1Crop Science Centre, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- 2Institute of Microbiology, Department of Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- 3Laboratory of Nematology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Abstract
Most genetic diversity stems from spontaneous mutations, that is, errors in DNA repair or replication. But for dozens of organisms across the tree of life, mutations at specific loci are not spontaneous but developmentally programmed: effectively, some organisms edit their own DNA sequences. This is perhaps most common among pathogens and parasites, many of which use editing to diversify genes that produce important antigens. Plant-parasitic potato cyst nematodes are damaging agricultural pests that establish a lifelong feeding site inside the root of their host plant. We previously observed extensive diversity of rare alleles at HYP1, the most highly expressed gene that encodes a protein secreted by potato cyst nematodes during parasitism. Importantly, HYP1 alleles differ from each other by complex, in-frame rearrangements of short repeated sequence motifs within a single exon. Combining several lines of evidence, we previously hypothesized that potato cyst nematodes use developmentally-programmed mutations, or editing, to diversify HYP1 alleles in the soma. In the current work, we now test this hypothesis. We employ highly accurate long-read DNA sequencing of a simplified genetic system to identify potential rare edited alleles, we use a transgenic yeast system to describe large de novo mutations at HYP1, and we interpret our findings in light of key population genetic parameters as well as the genetic diversity surrounding HYP1 and across the genome.
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BibTeX
@article{hanlon2026diversity,
title = {{Diversity at the HYP1 locus in potato cyst nematodes does not result from developmentally-programmed somatic mutations}},
author = {Vincent C. T. Hanlon and Unnati Sonawala and Cian A. A. Raza and Luisa Kalkert and George Harpum and Lukas A. Burkhardt and Johannes Helder and Sebastian Eves-van den Akker},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0358232},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358232},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Diversity at the HYP1 locus in potato cyst nematodes does not result from developmentally-programmed somatic mutations
AU - Vincent C. T. Hanlon
AU - Unnati Sonawala
AU - Cian A. A. Raza
AU - Luisa Kalkert
AU - George Harpum
AU - Lukas A. Burkhardt
AU - Johannes Helder
AU - Sebastian Eves-van den Akker
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0358232
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358232
AB - Most genetic diversity stems from spontaneous mutations, that is, errors in DNA repair or replication. But for dozens of organisms across the tree of life, mutations at specific loci are not spontaneous but developmentally programmed: effectively, some organisms edit their own DNA sequences. This is perhaps most common among pathogens and parasites, many of which use editing to diversify genes that produce important antigens. Plant-parasitic potato cyst nematodes are damaging agricultural pests that establish a lifelong feeding site inside the root of their host plant. We previously observed extensive diversity of rare alleles at HYP1, the most highly expressed gene that encodes a protein secreted by potato cyst nematodes during parasitism. Importantly, HYP1 alleles differ from each other by complex, in-frame rearrangements of short repeated sequence motifs within a single exon. Combining several lines of evidence, we previously hypothesized that potato cyst nematodes use developmentally-programmed mutations, or editing, to diversify HYP1 alleles in the soma. In the current work, we now test this hypothesis. We employ highly accurate long-read DNA sequencing of a simplified genetic system to identify potential rare edited alleles, we use a transgenic yeast system to describe large de novo mutations at HYP1, and we interpret our findings in light of key population genetic parameters as well as the genetic diversity surrounding HYP1 and across the genome.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -