Insights in nematode DNA sequencing raises interest in Southern Africa

From 28 September to 1 October 2025, the NEM-EMERGE coordinator, Hans Helder, from Wageningen University, gave a keynote talk entitled “Insights in soil life including both good and bad guys provided by long-read DNA sequencing techniques in a Southern African context” during the 25th Symposium of the Nematological Society of Southern Africa.

In his presentation, Hans showed the long-read DNA sequencing techniques that have been developed in NEM-EMERGE, which are essential to discriminate between ’tropical’ root-knot nematode species (find here more information about the research).

Nematodes show remarkably little biogeography (at least till genus level), implying that many of the plant-parasitic nematodes, as well as their natural antagonists, are found all over the world. Therefore, results from agronomic and ecological studies on these organisms from Europe, like the ones made in NEM-EMERGE, might hold for Southern Africa.