Photorhabdus heterorhabditis strain:ETL Genome sequencing and assembly. Photorhabdus heterorhabditis strain:ETL

This research is part of the project entitled “Novel entomopathogenic nematode (EPN), Heterorhabditis zealandica strain ETL, a potential industrial pest control species from the Limpopo province, South Africa”; it is aimed to determine the novel endemic strain of EPN together with its symbiotically associated (in the intestine) bacterium with insecticidal potential, to be developed to mass-produce an EPN-based bio-insecticide for pest control. To attain these, the research is focused on isolating symbiotic bacterial species together with their nematodes host and doing a whole genomic study to understand the symbiosis relationship between the two; and identify genes which are responsible for the pathogenicity against insect pests, since the symbiotic bacteria and nematode duo are virulent to insect pests. Furthermore, whole genomes of both EPN and its symbiotic bacterium will be compare with other genera of EPN-bacterium duo to detect any differences in the genomes and promote understanding of the EPN-bacteria symbiotic life cycle.