Data from: The origin, deployment, and evolution of a plant-parasitic nematode effectorome

Plant-parasitic nematodes constrain global food security. During
parasitism, they secrete effectors into the host plant from two types of
pharyngeal gland cells. These effectors elicit profound changes in host
biology to suppress immunity and establish a unique feeding organ from
which the nematode draws nutrition. Despite the importance of effectors in
nematode parasitism, there has been no comprehensive identification and
characterisation of the effector repertoire of any plant-parasitic
nematode. To address this, we advance techniques for gland cell isolation
and transcriptional analysis to define a stringent annotation of putative
effectors for the cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii at three key
life-stages. We define 717 effector gene loci: 269 “known” high-confidence
homologs of plant-parasitic nematode effectors, and 448 “novel” effectors
with high gland cell expression. In doing so we define the most
comprehensive “effectorome” of a plant-parasitic nematode to date. Using
this effector definition, we provide the first systems-level understanding
of the origin, deployment and evolution of a plant-parasitic nematode
effectorome. The robust identification of the effector repertoire of a
plant-parasitic nematode will underpin our understanding of nematode
pathology, and hence, inform strategies for crop protection.