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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #372865

Research Project: Molecular Systematics, Identification, Biology, and Management of Crop-Parasitic Nematodes

Location: Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory

Title: Molecular and morphological characterization of the amaryllis lesion nematode, Pratylenchus hippeastri (Inserra et al., 2007), from California

Author
item Handoo, Zafar
item Skantar, Andrea
item KANTOR, MIHAIL - Orise Fellow
item HAFEZ, SAAD - University Of Idaho
item Hult, Maria

Submitted to: Journal of Nematology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/5/2020
Publication Date: 7/6/2020
Citation: Handoo, Z.A., Skantar, A.M., Kantor, M.R., Hafez, S.L., Hult, M.N. 2020. Molecular and morphological characterization of the amaryllis lesion nematode, Pratylenchus hippeastri (Inserra et al., 2007), from California. Journal of Nematology. 52(1):1-5. https://doi.org/10.21307/jofnem-2020-058.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/jofnem-2020-058

Interpretive Summary: Plant-parasitic nematodes are microscopic worms that attack plant roots and cause an estimated ten billion dollars of crop loss each year in the United States and 100 billion dollars globally. Lesion nematodes are an important problem damaging the roots of many kinds of plants worldwide. One problem with determining the extent of damage to crop plants is that the nematodes present in many areas are not known, such as in California. This brief report describes how a team of ARS and University of Idaho scientists identified from a vineyard in Delano, Kern County, CA, a species of lesion nematode called Pratylenchus hippeastri by both morphological and molecular means. This discovery is significant because it is the first report of this nematode in California and the molecular and morphological information obtained will allow this nematode to be more easily distinguished from closely related species. Therefore, this research will be used by scientists, growers, action agencies, and extension agencies involved in nematode research and control.

Technical Abstract: Root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.) are among the most important nematode pests on grapevine along with root-knot, dagger and ring nematodes. In 2019, two samples of both soil and roots were collected from a vineyard in Delano, Kern County, California and submitted to the USDA, ARS, Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory (MNGDBL), Beltsville, MD, for identification purposes. Females and juveniles of Pratylenchus sp. were recovered from the root and soil samples using the sugar centrifugal flotation and Baermann Funnel extraction methods. Both morphological observations and molecular analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS), 28S large subunit ribosomal DNA, and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase (COI) sequences indicated that the specimens recovered from the soil and roots were Pratylenchus hippeastri. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of P. hippeastri from California including the first record of this species on grapevine and the second state record in North America. Damages caused by nematodes can't be over-emphasized, although economic importance of P. hippeastri has never been established. Hence, there is an urgent need to investigate the economic impact of this nematode in vineyards in California State in order to develop sustainable management strategies.