Presence of Meloidogyne enterolobii Yang & Eisenback (=M. mayaguensis) in guava and acerola from Costa Rica

Abstract

The presence of Meloidogyne enterolobii on two hosts and in several locations in Costa Rica is reported. Meloidogyne spp. females were extracted from root of acerola and of wild and introduced guava and their perineal patterns were examined. Females from acerola showed round or dorso-ventrally ovoid perineal patterns, in some cases with lateral lines or with a moderately high to high dorsal arch as is characteristic of M. incognita. In guava, perineal patterns were similar, but with a low to moderate dorsal arch. PCR amplification of the mitochondrial DNA region between COII and the 16S ribosomal RNA yielded a unique product of 705 bp for the five populations extracted from both crops. In addition, the amplified product spanning the 63 bp repeat region of the mitochondrial genome was a single fragment of 320 bp in contrast to other tropical species, which typically amplify multiple bands. Size of PCR products of both mitochondrial regions and the sequence of the 63 bp repeat region supported the identity of these isolates as M. enterolobii (=M. mayaguensis).