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 precision
• ​That most nematodes appear homozygous, despite the population showing extreme diversity
• ​A proposed mechanism called HVD editing — a form of locus-specific somatic genome editing
• ​Why 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

🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more strange and spectacular tales of genome biology.

🔗 www.veerenchauhan.com