TABLE CONTENTS

SESSION ONE – PLENARY SESSION
CHAIRS: MICHAEL HODDA & DAVID CHITWOOD
Is Nematology a Jigsaw, a Tapestry or a Strange Attractor?
Hodda, M.
CSIRO Entomology, GPO Box 1700 Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
This paper is an attempt at an overview of the science of nematology: what are its
characteristics, where it has been, where it is heading, and where it might go (which is not
necessarily the same as where it is heading!). I will also discuss the relationships between
nematology and other scientific disciplines, and what can be learned but also given back.
Nematology is an amazingly diverse field of study. I will argue that this complexity is one of
its greatest strengths, along with the particular characteristics of the organisms themselves.
To simplify my discussion, I will use the metaphor of a two-dimensional artwork to explain
what I mean, with examples from parts of nematology that I am familiar with.
Is nematology a jigsaw of interlocking pieces, falling into place to form a larger picture? To
some extent, missing pieces of a scientific puzzle can be identified, researched, and then
slotted in to solve larger problems, for example in adding molecular evidence to evolutionary
trees. This metaphor fits well in some circumstances, but not others.
Is nematology a tapestry of threads with different strands of science crossing and weaving
together form a coherent image? To some extent, researchers can take from entirely different
scientific disciplines to create new advances, for example in identifying resistance genes from
analogues in free-living model nematodes, the knowledge and cultures of which were the
result of basic studies of nutrition. This metaphor, too, fits in some cases, but not others.
If neither of these models fit all the time, is nematology instead a strange attractor, the
densely patterned picture produced as a result of a certain type of dynamic mathematical
system, where the individual results jump around in an apparently chaotic manner, but
nevertheless overall form a beautiful, if abstract, picture. This sort of picture may not be to
everyone's taste, but can nevertheless be the outcome of the underlying processes.
In many cases of nematological research, the last model may be the one closest to reality.
The development of, and results from, Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism, begun
before the double helix was even known, is a case in point. If this is the model for much of
nematology, there will be a few surprises in store, but equally it will point the way to new
areas where there could be great advances. These advances may very well be initially in
fundamental areas of science, and only later be translated into applied fields. Viewed in this
way, nematology has a great deal to offer the broader scientific community.
5 th International Congress of Nematology, 2008 1