Unzipped chromosome-level genomes reveal allopolyploid nematode origin pattern as unreduced gamete hybridization.

The formation and consequences of polyploidization in animals with clonal reproduction remain largely unknown. Clade I root-knot nematodes (RKNs), characterized by parthenogenesis and allopolyploidy, show a widespread geographical distribution and extensive agricultural destruction. Here, we generated 4 unzipped polyploid RKN genomes and identified a putative novel alternative telomeric element. Then we reconstructed 4 chromosome-level assemblies and resolved their genome structures as AAB for triploid and AABB for tetraploid. The phylogeny of subgenomes revealed polyploid RKN origin patterns as hybridization between haploid and unreduced gametes. We also observed extensive chromosomal fusions and homologous gene expression decrease after polyploidization, which might offset the disadvantages of clonal reproduction and increase fitness in polyploid RKNs. Our results reveal a rare pathway of polyploidization in parthenogenic polyploid animals and provide a large number of high-precision genetic resources that could be used for RKN prevention and control.

Unravelling resources use efficiency and its drivers for water transfer and grain production processes in pumping irrigation system.

Improving the resource utilization efficiency in irrigation systems contributes to the sustainability of the regional water-energy-grain nexus. Based on the water, energy and grain relationships quantification, the comprehensive efficiency (CE) of water transfer and grain production processes and its driving mechanism were analyzed, considering a pumping irrigation system in the Lianshui irrigation district (LID) in eastern China, as a case study. The annual crop output, crop water footprint, and electric energy consumption were estimated as 905.3 M kg (1 M = 106), 914.7 M m3 (50.7% blue water), and 3004.0 kWh, respectively, from 2005 to 2018; the corresponding crop water productivity (CWP), electricity energy productivity (EEP), water intake efficiency of electric energy (WIE) were 0.91 kg/m3, 80.39 kg/kJ, and 75.22 m3/kJ, respectively. CWP, EEP, and WIE varied among crops; however, none of the three indicators showed an obvious trend of change with time. The CE of integrated grain was 0.48 and showed an increase over time, indicating that the sustainability of the studied pumping irrigation system was improving. The driving effect of artificial factors (e. g. social development, agricultural input, and water management) on the CE was more obvious than that of natural conditions (e. g. climate). Increasing agricultural machinery and urbanization rates and reducing the agricultural water rate are conducive to improving the resource utilization efficiency in pumping irrigation systems. The analysis framework coupling water footprint and traditional paradigms proposed in this paper provides a feasible approach for the stability and sustainability of irrigated agricultural systems observation.