"Root-knot nematodes are devastating plant parasites of worldwide importance.
Interestingly, species that cause most damages reproduce entirely asexually. These nematodes are
extremely polyphagous and have a wide geographic range. Theoretically, in the absence of sexual
recombination animal species have lower adaptive potential and are predicted to undergo genome
decay. To investigate how these species can be successful parasites on many hosts and in many places
around the world, we have sequenced and analyzed their genomes. Our analysis confirmed these
species are polyploid hybrids and the combination of several genotypes from different species might
provide them with a general-purpose genotype. However, this does not explain how with a
theoretically fixed genotype these species are able to overcome resistance genes or adapt to a new
host. Therefore, we analyzed genomic variability across different populations and the possible
mechanisms underlying genomic variations. In this presentation, I will provide an overview of our
findings."
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