Nematode samplings in cultivated and wild olive in Crete, Greece, yielded the presence of Bitylenchus hispaniensis, Helicotylenchus microlobus, Helicotylenchus vulgaris, Merlinius brevidens, and Pratylenchoides alkani. With the exception of H. microlobus and M. brevidens, reports of these plant-parasitic nematode species constitute new records for Greece. Bitylenchus hispaniensis is also reported for first time in a country outside of Spain, where it was originally described. Pratylenchoides alkani is herein reported for the second time in the Mediterranean area and for the first time in association with olive. Two further populations of H. microlobus and H. vulgaris, from walnut and goji berry from Greece, were identified. Molecular data for all of these nematode species are provided, resulting in the first integrative identification of these Greek populations.
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.
SummaryRoot-knot nematodes (RKN), Meloidogyne spp., have a wide host range and are common in the Mediterranean area. Cultivated lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) was found naturally infested by M. hapla in Kozani area, the first documented infestation of this crop by RKN in Greece. Oxalis pescaprae, a common winter weed in Crete, was found to be a host of M. javanica under artificial inoculation. This weed acts as a potential winter host of the nematode in fields cultivated with vegetable crops. Two populations of M. ethiopica were found in kiwi and maize in Greece in the past. Recently, populations of M. ethiopica from Europe were re-classified as M. luci, based only on the population isolated from kiwi for Greece. In the current work, the RKN populations originating from kiwi and maize and maintained on tomato, were identified as M. luci. Nematode species identification was determined by electrophoretic analysis of protein extracts obtained from females.
Longidorid nematodes comprise more than 500 species, and Longidorus and Xiphinema are the most diversified, prevalent, and cosmopolitan genera within plant-parasitic nematodes. The genus Longidorus comprise a group of species, some of which are vectors of plant viruses. New sampling for needle nematodes was carried out in a grapevine area in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, and one nematode species of Longidorus (L. leptocephalus) was recovered. Nematodes were extracted from soil samples by modified sieving and a decanting method. Extracted specimens were processed using glycerol, mounted on permanent slides, and subsequently identified morphologically. Nematode DNA was extracted from individual, live specimens, and PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) assays were performed for D2-D3 expansion segments of 28S rRNA, ITS1 rRNA, and partial mitochondrial COI regions. Morphology and morphometric data obtained from this population were consistent with the original description and reported populations of L. leptocephalus. To our knowledge, this is the first report of L. leptocephalus in Greece and the second in the Mediterranean Basin after the record of the species from Slovenia, extending the geographical distribution of this species in Europe.
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