{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:46:48Z","timestamp":1760060808308,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,18]],"date-time":"2025-09-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758153600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Sanya Science and Technology Innovation Project","award":["2022KJCX99"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022KJCX99"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Proteins containing the SQS-PSY domain, which include squalene synthetase (SQS), phytoene synthetase (PSY), and NDUFAF6, are functionally important and widely distributed in plants and animals. However, they have not been previously reported in nematodes. In this study, we identified a gene (Minc31999) encoding an SQS-PSY domain-containing protein in the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. In silico comparison and enzymatic assays of the recombinant protein indicated that this nematode protein is a putative NDUFAF6 homolog. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that this protein is evolutionarily conserved within the Nematoda phylum. RT-qPCR analysis showed that Minc31999 is highly expressed during the early infection stage of M. incognita. Targeting the nematode gene Minc31999 via host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) significantly hindered nematode development and virulence. In contrast, heterologous expression of Minc31999 in Arabidopsis thaliana disrupted normal plant development and increased host susceptibility to nematode infection. Transcriptomic profiling (RNA-seq) of these transgenic plants prior to infections showed a widespread differential expression of genes across multiple metabolic pathways. We propose that this nematode SQS-PSY domain-containing protein may function as an effector that rewires host secondary metabolism to establish a parasitic relationship. Our study elucidates a novel strategy in nematode\u2013plant interactions and advances our understanding of the functional evolution of SQS-PSY domain-containing proteins.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms26189113","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,18]],"date-time":"2025-09-18T12:54:26Z","timestamp":1758200066000},"page":"9113","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Discovery of an SQS-PSY Domain-Containing Protein in Meloidogyne incognita Reveals Its Function in Parasitism"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Junru","family":"Lu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China"},{"name":"Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Runmao","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control of Tropical Plant Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication, Hainan University, Sanya 572025, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yunlong","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Biosafety, Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Sanya 572024, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xin","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yang","family":"Jiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8514-5951","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xinyue","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bingyan","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China"},{"name":"Center for Biosafety, Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Sanya 572024, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7156","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-023-42700-w","article-title":"Unzipped chromosome-level genomes reveal allopolyploid nematode origin pattern as unreduced gamete hybridization","volume":"14","author":"Dai","year":"2023","journal-title":"Nat. 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