First report of cultivated Cretan mountain tea (Sideritis syriaca) as a host of Meloidogyne hapla and M. javanica in Crete, with some additional records on the occurrence of Meloidogyne species in Greece.

Emmanuel A Tzortzakakis,Juan E Palomares-Rius,Antonio Archidona-Yuste,Carolina Cantalapiedra-Navarrete,Pablo Castillo,Maria Kormpi

doi:10.21307/jofnem-2019-010

Abstract

Cultivated Cretan mountain tea or Malotira (Sideritis syriaca L.) was found to be infected by Meloidogyne hapla and Meloidogyne javanica in the island of Crete. The authors provide the first molecular characterization of M. hapla in Greece and the first report of Cretan mountain tea or Malotira as a host of Meloidogyne species worldwide. In addition, Meloidogyne hispanica was found infecting aloe (Andros island) and corn (Drama, North Greece) consisting the first reports of natural infection of these plants by M. hispanica in Europe. Furthermore, infection of corn by M. incognita and soybean by M. javanica (Drama, North Greece) are reported for the first time in Greece. Integrative taxonomical approach based on perineal pattern and EP/st ratio, as well as the region of the mitochondrial genome between the cytochrome oxidase subunit II (coxII) and 16S rRNA mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes was used to differentiate Meloidogyne species.

Highlights

Root-knot nematodes (RKNs), Meloidogyne spp., are recognized worldwide as the most economically important nematodes in agriculture, with a wide host range, and common in the Mediterranean area (Lamberti, 1981; Karssen and Moens, 2006)
First report of cultivated Cretan mountain tea as a host of Meloidogyne hapla and M. javanica in Crete the corn (Zea mays L.) samples where mature egg masses were not found in galled roots, the original soil from the rhizosphere was used to fill pots (1,000 cm3) to which tomatoes were planted
Perineal patterns and the distance from excretory pore to the anterior end/stylet length ratio (EP/st) character were established for species identification in more than 10 mature female specimens

Summary

Introduction

Root-knot nematodes (RKNs), Meloidogyne spp., are recognized worldwide as the most economically important nematodes in agriculture, with a wide host range, and common in the Mediterranean area (Lamberti, 1981; Karssen and Moens, 2006). Meloidogyne hispanica, Meloidogyne incognita, Corn, Soybean, Aloe.

Results

Conclusion