In this episode, we dive into a genetic mystery: how can a single gene in plant-parasitic nematodes have thousands of alleles? This study unravels the bizarre behaviour of HYP effectors — genes that help nematodes infect plants but defy traditional genetics.
Using CRISPR, long-read sequencing, and clever maths, the researchers reveal:
How the HYP gene rearranges motifs in its hyper-variable domain (HVD) with flawless precisionThat most nematodes appear homozygous, despite the population showing extreme diversityA proposed mechanism called HVD editing — a form of locus-specific somatic genome editingWhy this mirrors the way our immune system reshuffles antibody genes
This isn’t just about plant pests — it’s a rare glimpse at real-time genome innovation, where diversity is generated with intent, not random chance.
📖 Based on the research article: “A gene with a thousand alleles: The hyper-variable effectors of plant-parasitic nematodes” Unnati Sonawala, Helen Beasley, Peter Thorpe, Kyriakos Varypatakis, Beatrice Senatori, John T. Jones, Lida Derevnina & Sebastian Eves-van den Akker Published in Cell Genomics (2024). 🔗 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xgen.2024.100580
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