(BioMed Central, 2016) Calderón Urrea, Alejandro; Vanholme, Bartel; Vangestel, Sandra; Kane, Saben M.; Bahaji, Abdellatif; Pha, Khavong; García Solano, Miguel; Snider, Alyssa; Gheysen, Godelieve; IdAB. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología / Agrobioteknologiako Institutua
Background: Detailed descriptions of the early development of parasitic nematodes are seldom available. The
embryonic development of the plant-parasitic nematode Meloidogyne incognita was studied, focusing on the
early events.
Results: A fixed pattern of repeated cell cleavages was observed, resulting in the appearance of the six founder cells
3 days after the first cell division. Gastrulation, characterized by the translocation of cells from the ventral side to the
center of the embryo, was seen 1 day later. Approximately 10 days after the first cell division a rapidly elongating
two-fold stage was reached. The fully developed second stage juvenile hatched approximately 21 days after the first
cell division.
Conclusions: When compared to the development of the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the development
of M. incognita occurs approximately 35 times more slowly. Furthermore, M. incognita differs from C. elegans in the
order of cell divisions, and the early cleavage patterns of the germ line cells. However, cytoplasmic ruffling and nuclear
migration prior to the first cell division as well as the localization of microtubules are similar between C. elegans and
M. incognita.
