Whole genome sequencing of the plant parasitic root knot nematode Meloidogyne floridensis

Meloidogyne root knot nematodes (RKN) can infect most agricultural plant species and have been suggested to be among the most important of all plant pathogens. Understanding their origins, global diversity, and the genomic basis of their extreme polyphagy are therefore important goals. The key tropical species are aneuploid triploids reproducing by obligatory mitotic parthenogenesis, and likely originate from unknown interspecific hybridizations. By sequencing the genome of M floridensis and using a comparative genomic approach, we tested the hypothesis that the closely related, diploid automict M. floridensis was involved in the hybrid origin of the key tropical apomict M. incognita.