We report the cloning and characterisation of genes encoding expansin-like proteins from the pine wood nematodes, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and B. mucronatus. A small family of genes is present in both species and the Bursaphelenchus genes are most similar to expansins and expansin-like proteins from the potato cyst nematode Globodera rostochiensis and root-knot nematodes. Molecular modelling suggests that the genes could encode a protein with a structure similar to that of functionally characterised expansins. Expression analysis showed that the Bursaphelenchus expansin-like genes are expressed solely in the pharyngeal gland cells, implying a role in the host-parasite interaction, most likely in assisting migration through the plant. Some G. rostochiensis and root-knot nematode expansins are composed of a carbohydrate-binding domain coupled to an expansin domain but no carbohydrate binding domain is present on any of the Bursaphelenchus sequences. We suggest a model for evolution of the expansin gene family within the plant-parasitic nematodes of the Tylenchida and Aphelenchida. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2009.
CITATION STYLE
Kikuchi, T., Li, H., Karim, N., Kennedy, M. W., Moens, M., & Jones, J. T. (2009). Identification of putative expansin-like genes from the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, and evolution of the expansin gene family within the Nematoda. Nematology, 11(3), 355–364. https://doi.org/10.1163/156854109X446953
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.