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Data from: Diversity at the HYP1 locus in potato cyst nematodes does not result from developmentally-programmed somatic mutations

Hanlon, Vincent1; Sonawala, Unnati1; Raza, Cian2; Kalkert, Luisa1; Harpum, George1; Burkhardt, Lukas3; Helder, Johannes4; Eves-van den Akker, Sebastian1

Published Jul 21, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1c59zw4cd

Data files

Abstract

In parasites, genetic diversity is valuable fuel for the coevolutionary arms race with their hosts. However, in parasitic nematode worms, low genetic diversity is often observed. Several other parasites and pathogens (e.g., single-celled eukaryotes) generate genetic diversity in an unusual way: they edit the DNA sequence of an important gene in their own genome, instead of waiting for rare spontaneous mutations to occur. This has never been observed in a plant parasite, but we previously described a major parasitism gene (HYP1) in plant-parasitic nematodes with such diverse DNA sequences that it looks like it could perhaps be edited. Now, we generate better data for a simplified genetic system and show that much of the observed HYP1 diversity was actually cryptic DNA sequencing errors. Although there is real genetic diversity at HYP1, it is best explained not by editing but by fundamental evolutionary forces that operate across the genome.