Abstract
The root lesion Pratylenchus penetrans is an economically important pest affecting a wide range of plants. The morphometry of five P. penetrans isolates, parasitizing potato roots in Portugal, was compared and variability within and between isolates was observed. Of the 15 characters assessed, vulva position (V%) in females and the stylet length in both females/males showed the lowest coefficient of intra and inter-isolate variability. Moreover, DNA sequencing of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) genomic region and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene was performed, in order to evaluate the intraspecific genetic variability of this species. ITS revealed higher isolate genetic diversity than the COI gene, with 15 and 7 different haplotypes from the 15 ITS and 14 COI sequences, respectively. Intra- and inter-isolate genetic diversity was found considering both genomic regions. The differentiation of these isolates was not related with their geographical origin. In spite of the high intraspecific variability, phylogenetic analyses revealed that both ITS region and COI gene separate P. penetrans from other related species. Our findings contribute to increasing the understanding of P. penetrans variability.
Highlights
In spite of the high intraspecific variability, phylogenetic analyses revealed that both internal transcribed spacers (ITS) region and c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene separate P. penetrans from other related species
On potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), the nematode causes necrotic lesions on tubers and roots due to migration and feeding, and its presence increases the severity of the “potato early dying” disease caused by Verticillium dahliae Kleb. [3,4]
The comparative morphometrical analyses revealed the presence of substantial inter and intra variability between isolates, differences fall within the range of the morphometrical variability described previously in P. penetrans [3,31]
Summary
In spite of the high intraspecific variability, phylogenetic analyses revealed that both ITS region and COI gene separate P. penetrans from other related species. The root lesion nematode (RLN) Pratylenchus penetrans (Cobb, 1917) Filipjev and Schuurmans Stekhoven, 1941 is an important migratory endoparasite, often reported as a limiting factor of several herbaceous and fruit crops [1,2,3]. On potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), the nematode causes necrotic lesions on tubers and roots due to migration and feeding, and its presence increases the severity of the “potato early dying” disease caused by Verticillium dahliae Kleb. To overcome the issues of overlapping morphological and morphometrical characters, identification of RLN should be complemented with the molecular analysis for accurate diagnosis of this group of nematodes [15]. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
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