| Summary: | The plant-parasitic nematode <i>Meloidogyne graminicola</i> causes considerable damages to rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i>) culture. Resistance to <i>M. graminicola</i> in the related species <i>Oryza glaberrima</i> reduces root penetration by juveniles and stops further nematode development. <i>M. graminicola</i> genes expressed during <i>O. sativa</i> infection were previously characterized but no information is available about the molecular dialogue established with a resistant plant. We compared the <i>M. graminicola</i> transcriptomes of stage-two juveniles (J2s) before and during infection of susceptible or resistant rice. Among 36,121 <i>M. graminicola</i> genes surveyed, 367 were differentially expressed during infection of resistant or susceptible plants. Genes encoding cell wall-degrading enzymes, peptidases and neuropeptides were expressed for a longer time in resistant plants compared to susceptible plants. Conversely, genes related to nematode development were not activated in the resistant host. The majority of <i>M. graminicola</i> effector genes had similar expression patterns, whatever the host genotype. However, two venom allergen-like protein (VAP)-encoding genes were specifically induced in resistant plants and <i>Mg-VAP1</i> silencing in J2s reduced their ability to colonize roots. This study highlighted that <i>M. graminicola</i> adapts its gene expression to the host susceptibility. Further investigation is required to assess the role of <i>Mg-VAPs</i> in the rice–nematode interaction.
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