Host‐induced silencing of the Minc09294 effector gene impairs Meloidogyne incognita and M. Enterolobii infection
Abstract
The root-knot nematode (RKN) Meloidogyne incognita is one of the most important plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) worldwide. M. incognita secretes a large number of effector proteins that play major roles in parasitism by modulating host susceptibility. In this study, we functionally characterized the M. incognita Minc3s00280g09294 (Minc09294) gene as a putative effector using a host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) approach in transgenic plants. Quantitative expression analyses showed that the Minc09294 gene is weakly expressed from eggs through the J4 stage, but is strongly induced in adult females during plant parasitism, indicating a role in the sedentary feeding phase. In silico domain prediction revealed that the encoded Minc09294 protein contains four galectin/galactose-binding lectin domains, an N-terminal signal peptide for extracellular secretion, a non-cytoplasmic region, and no predicted transmembrane domain, consistent with secretion into host tissues. Minc09294 silencing in host plants significantly decreased the number of galls (92.9%), egg masses (93.5%), eggs (79.0%), and the nematode reproduction factor (90.5%) in Minc09294-RNAi lines compared to wild-type plants. Histological analyses further revealed smaller galls and poorly developed giant cells in the Minc09294-RNAi lines. Since the homologous gene ME_e1834_066g0351951 in Meloidogyne enterolobii shares high sequence similarity with Minc09294, and consequently with the RNAi target sequence, we also challenged the Minc09294-RNAi lines with M. enterolobii. These Minc09294-RNAi lines exhibited a substantial reduction in the number of galls
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BibTeX
@article{abreusousa2026hostinduced,
title = {{Host‐induced silencing of the Minc09294 effector gene impairs Meloidogyne incognita and M. Enterolobii infection}},
author = {João Pedro Abreu‐sousa and Thuanne Pires Ribeiro and Daniele Heloisa Pinheiro and Valdeir Junio Vaz Moreira and Luanna Pinheiro Alburquerque Freitas Bezerra and Júlia Moura Rosário Santana and Lays Antunes Teixeira and Maria Eugenia Lisei‐de‐sa and Deyse Alexandra Rosero Alpala and Manoely Abreu Reis and Isabela Tristan Lourenço‐tessutti and Leonardo Lima Pepino Macedo and Carolina Vianna Morgante and Maria Cristina Mattar Silva and Marcos Fernando Basso and Janice de Almeida‐engler and Maria Fatima Grossi‐de‐sa and Abreu-Sousa Oão Pedro and Moreira C Valdeir Junio Vaz and Bezerra E Luanna Pinheiro Alburquerque Freitas and Santana C Júlia Moura Rosário and Teixeira F Lays Antunes and Lisei-De-Sa C Maria Eugenia and Alpala G Deyse Alexandra Rosero and Reis C Manoely Abreu and Lourenço-Tessutti C Isabela Tristan and Macedo C Leonardo Lima Pepino and Morgante C Carolina Vianna and Silva C Maria Cristina Mattar and Basso C Marcos Fernando and Janice de Almeida Engler and Maria Fatima Grossi-De-Saa},
journal = {Pest Management Science},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1002/ps.71258},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05773397v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Host‐induced silencing of the Minc09294 effector gene impairs Meloidogyne incognita and M. Enterolobii infection
AU - João Pedro Abreu‐sousa
AU - Thuanne Pires Ribeiro
AU - Daniele Heloisa Pinheiro
AU - Valdeir Junio Vaz Moreira
AU - Luanna Pinheiro Alburquerque Freitas Bezerra
AU - Júlia Moura Rosário Santana
AU - Lays Antunes Teixeira
AU - Maria Eugenia Lisei‐de‐sa
AU - Deyse Alexandra Rosero Alpala
AU - Manoely Abreu Reis
AU - Isabela Tristan Lourenço‐tessutti
AU - Leonardo Lima Pepino Macedo
AU - Carolina Vianna Morgante
AU - Maria Cristina Mattar Silva
AU - Marcos Fernando Basso
AU - Janice de Almeida‐engler
AU - Maria Fatima Grossi‐de‐sa
AU - Abreu-Sousa Oão Pedro
AU - Moreira C Valdeir Junio Vaz
AU - Bezerra E Luanna Pinheiro Alburquerque Freitas
AU - Santana C Júlia Moura Rosário
AU - Teixeira F Lays Antunes
AU - Lisei-De-Sa C Maria Eugenia
AU - Alpala G Deyse Alexandra Rosero
AU - Reis C Manoely Abreu
AU - Lourenço-Tessutti C Isabela Tristan
AU - Macedo C Leonardo Lima Pepino
AU - Morgante C Carolina Vianna
AU - Silva C Maria Cristina Mattar
AU - Basso C Marcos Fernando
AU - Janice de Almeida Engler
AU - Maria Fatima Grossi-De-Saa
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - Pest Management Science
DO - 10.1002/ps.71258
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05773397v1
AB - The root-knot nematode (RKN) Meloidogyne incognita is one of the most important plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) worldwide. M. incognita secretes a large number of effector proteins that play major roles in parasitism by modulating host susceptibility. In this study, we functionally characterized the M. incognita Minc3s00280g09294 (Minc09294) gene as a putative effector using a host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) approach in transgenic plants. Quantitative expression analyses showed that the Minc09294 gene is weakly expressed from eggs through the J4 stage, but is strongly induced in adult females during plant parasitism, indicating a role in the sedentary feeding phase. In silico domain prediction revealed that the encoded Minc09294 protein contains four galectin/galactose-binding lectin domains, an N-terminal signal peptide for extracellular secretion, a non-cytoplasmic region, and no predicted transmembrane domain, consistent with secretion into host tissues. Minc09294 silencing in host plants significantly decreased the number of galls (92.9%), egg masses (93.5%), eggs (79.0%), and the nematode reproduction factor (90.5%) in Minc09294-RNAi lines compared to wild-type plants. Histological analyses further revealed smaller galls and poorly developed giant cells in the Minc09294-RNAi lines. Since the homologous gene ME_e1834_066g0351951 in Meloidogyne enterolobii shares high sequence similarity with Minc09294, and consequently with the RNAi target sequence, we also challenged the Minc09294-RNAi lines with M. enterolobii. These Minc09294-RNAi lines exhibited a substantial reduction in the number of galls
SN - 1526-498X
SN - 1526-4998
ER -