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 84
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
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- biodiversity
- biogeography
- criptic species
- phylogenetics
- sequencing
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
