The glycoside hydrolase family 16 (GH16) is widely found in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and hydrolyzes the β-1,3(4)-linkages in polysaccharides. Notably, the rice white tip nematode Aphelenchoides besseyi harbors a higher number of GH16s compared with other plant-parasitic nematodes. In this work, two GH16 genes, namely AbGH16-1 and AbGH16-2, were isolated and characterized from A. besseyi. The deduced amino acid sequences of AbGH16-1 and AbGH16-2 contained an N-terminal signal peptide and a fungal Lam16A glucanase domain. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that AbGH16-1 and AbGH16-2 clustered with ascomycete GH16s, suggesting AbGH16-1 and AbGH16-2 were acquired by horizontal gene transfer from fungi. In situ hybridization showed that both AbGH16-1 and AbGH16-2 were specifically expressed in the nematode gonads, correlating with qPCR analysis that showed the high transcript levels of the two genes in the female nematodes. AbGH16-1 and AbGH16-2 were also significantly induced in nematodes feeding on Botrytis cinerea. Characterization of the recombinant protein showed AbGH16-1 and AbGH16-2 displayed pronounced inhibition of both conidial germination and germ tube elongation of B. cinerea. In addition, silencing of AbGH16-1 and AbGH16-2 by RNA interference significantly decreased the reproduction ability of A. besseyi and had a profound impact on the development process of offspring in this nematode. These findings have firstly proved that GH16s may play important roles in A.besseyi feeding and reproduction on fungi, which thus provides novel insights into the function of GH16s in plant-parasitic nematodes.
Keywords: Aphelenchoides besseyi; RNA interference; fungal feeding; glycoside hydrolase family 16.