Advances in the Molecular Evolution of Free-Living and Plant Parasitic Nematodes
A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Zoology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 82
Special Issue Editor
Interests: convergent evolution; diversity; horizontal gene transfer; nematode phylogeny; phylogeography and phylogenomics; sequencing
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Nematodes are a widespread and diverse group comprising free-living and parasitic species, impacting human life in various ways, often with detrimental effects on crops, animals, and human health. Furthermore, plant-parasitic and free-living nematodes are increasingly important in relation to food security, quarantine measures, ecology, including pollution studies. In nematology, phylogenetic studies have been applied to resolve a wide range of questions dealing with improving classifications and testing evolution processes, such as on co-evolution, species complexes, and biogeography, amongst others.
The study of the phylogenetics and phylogenomics of free-living and parasitic nematodes will enable the clarification of many interesting aspects of nematode evolution—such as morphological and molecular adaptations to parasitism—and improve our understanding of the origin of economically important groups. In addition, understanding the metagenomics of soil nematofauna will allow soil health conditions to be determined.
For this Special Issue, we invite researchers to contribute original research or review articles that have the potential to show the evolutionary relationships among free-living and parasitic nematodes. We also welcome investigations into how these relationships could be harnessed to enhance agricultural output. We look forward to your contributions.
Dr. Francesca De Luca
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- biodiversity
- biogeography
- criptic species
- phylogenetics
- sequencing
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