Meloidogyne luci, a new root‐knot nematode parasitizing potato in Portugal

Abstract

In 2013, during a field survey conducted in Portugal on potato, Solanum tuberosum, an unusual esterase (EST) phenotype was detected in a root‐knot nematode (RKN) from potato roots collected in Coimbra. This Portuguese isolate was purified and maintained on tomato, S. lycopersicum, and morphological, biochemical and molecular characteristics were studied. Perineal pattern morphology was highly variable, similar to Meloidogyne ethiopica and not useful for identification. The EST phenotype, from young egg‐laying females, displayed three bands similar to the Brazilian M. luci (L3) and distinct from M. ethiopica (E3). Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I and the mitochondrial DNA region between COII and 16S rRNA genes revealed that the Portuguese isolate grouped with M. luci isolates close to M. ethiopica isolates. However, considering the ITS1‐5.8S‐ITS2 region, the Portuguese isolate grouped with isolates of M. luci, M. ethiopica and M. hispanica, which limits the confidence of this region for M. luci diagnosis, and its differentiation from other species with morphological similarities. The M. luci pathogenicity to potato was also assessed in 16 commercial cultivars and compared with M. chitwoodi, considered to be a quarantine RKN species by EPPO. All potato cultivars were susceptible to both Meloidogyne species with gall indices of 5 and higher reproduction factor values ranging from 12.5 to 122.3, which suggests that M. luci may constitute a potential threat to potato production. In the present study, M. luci is reported for the first time attacking potato in Portugal.

The quarantine root‐knot nematode Meloidogyne enterolobii – a potential threat to Portugal and Europe

“…, ), 25 of which have been found in Europe (Wesemael et al , ; Archidona‐Yuste et al , ; Santos et al , ). In Portugal, eight RKN species ( M. arenaria , M. chitwoodi , M. hapla , M. hispanica , M. incognita , M. javanica , M. luci and M. lusitanica ) have been found parasitizing several economically important crops (Pais & Abrantes, ; Abrantes & Santos ; Abrantes et al , ; Conceição et al , ; Esteves et al , ; Maleita et al , ). Typically, M. arenaria , M. incognita , M .…”

“…Currently, the Meloidogyne genus comprises more than 100 described species (Moens et al, 2009), 25 of which have been found in Europe (Wesemael et al, 2011;Archidona-Yuste et al, 2018;Santos et al, 2019). In Portugal, eight RKN species (M. arenaria, M. chitwoodi, M. hapla, M. hispanica, M. incognita, M. javanica, M. luci and M. lusitanica) have been found parasitizing several economically important crops (Pais & Abrantes, 1989;Abrantes & Santos 1991;Abrantes et al, 2008;Conceic ßão et al, 2009;Esteves et al, 2015;Maleita et al, 2018). Typically, M. arenaria, M. incognita, M. javanica and M. hapla are considered the most widespread and damaging, often classified as major RKN species (Moens et al, 2009).…”

Record of a new location for tropical root knot nematode Meloidogyne luci in Slovenia

“…The fact that there is no known differential host plant found so far to distinguish between M. ethiopica and M. luci suggests that the two species are very closely related (Geri c Stare et al, 2017). Meloidogyne luci has already been detected in open field agricultural production in Europe as it has been found in kiwi and maize production in Greece (Conceic ßão et al, 2012) and potato production in Portugal (Maleita et al, 2017). Therefore M. ethiopica (Carneiro et al, 2003(Carneiro et al, , 2007Aballay et al, 2009;Medina et al, 2014) as well as M. luci (Maleita et al, 2017) represent a serious threat to agriculture.…”

“…Meloidogyne luci has a very wide host range of monocotyledons and dicotyledons, including important agricultural crops such as maize, potatoes and variety of vegetables (Strajnar et al, 2009;Maleita et al, 2017). Meloidogyne luci has a very wide host range of monocotyledons and dicotyledons, including important agricultural crops such as maize, potatoes and variety of vegetables (Strajnar et al, 2009;Maleita et al, 2017).…”

“…Meloidogyne luci has a very wide host range of monocotyledons and dicotyledons, including important agricultural crops such as maize, potatoes and variety of vegetables (Strajnar et al, 2009;Maleita et al, 2017). Therefore M. ethiopica (Carneiro et al, 2003(Carneiro et al, , 2007Aballay et al, 2009;Medina et al, 2014) as well as M. luci (Maleita et al, 2017) represent a serious threat to agriculture. Phylogenetic analyses further confirmed a very close relationship between M. ethiopica and M. luci species (Janssen et al, 2016;Geri c Stare et al, 2017).…”