26 Feb Genomics and asexual reproduction in nematodes
Root Knot Nematodes of the genus Meloidogyne are some of the world’s most important crop pathogens. The genus contains a wide range of reproductive modes, with repeated transitions between them. This raises interesting possibilities to investigate the genomic consequences of the loss of meiotic recombination. I recently showed using DNA sequencing that several mitotic parthenogen species are the result of an interspecific hybridization event, and I am now investigating the genomes of parent (meiotic) and offspring (ameiotic) species.