Morphological, enzymatic and molecular characterization of root-knot nematodes parasitizing vegetable

Resumo

Species of the genus Meloidogyne are limiting factors in vegetable crop production. Studies have been conducted in Brazil on the occurrence of root-knot nematodes in growing vegetable crop areas without a reliable information on the etiology of root-knot nematode infestation, based on advanced identification procedures. Using modern techniques such as biochemical and molecular methods is possible to improve the accuracy of identifying species of Meloidogyne. This study characterized species of Meloidogyne in a total of 36 samples associated with vegetable crops by using isoenzyme electrophoresis, SCAR markers, and morphological markers, in addition to validation of SCAR markers for accurate identification of these species. The species M. incognita, M. javanica, M. hapla, M. morocciensis, and M. arenaria were identified, with the first two being the most frequent. The species M. arenaria parasitizing garden eggplant and M. morocciensis parasitizing pumpkin and cabbage were reported in Brazil for the first time. Esterase electrophoresis efficiently separated the species of Meloidogyne found in vegetable crops. However, SCAR markers were effective for the identification of only M. incognita, M. javanica, and M. hapla, as the primer pair Far/Rar did not yield any amplification to confirm the identity of M. arenaria. The species M. arenaria and M. morocciensis could not be distinguished by the female perineal patterns. Based on these results, new primers should be designed to identify M. arenaria and M. morocciensis.