Top ten most important U.S. regulated and emerging plant parasitic nematodes

Authors: KANTOR, MIHAIL - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE); Handoo, Zafar; KANTOR, CAMELIA - Pennsylvania State University; Carta, Lynn

Submitted to: Horticulturae
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/21/2022
Publication Date: 2/26/2022
Citation: Kantor, M.R., Handoo, Z.A., Kantor, C., Carta, L.K. 2022. Top ten most important U.S. regulated and emerging plant parasitic nematodes. Horticulturae. 8(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8030208.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8030208

Interpretive Summary: Plant-parasitic nematodes are microscopic worms that feed on plants and cause an estimated ten billion dollars of crop losses each year in the United States and 100 billion dollars globally. This paper reviews the most important quarantine cyst nematodes (Globodera pallida and Globodera rostochienis), which cause significant economic and yield losses on potato crops; other important regulated plant parasitic nematodes such as Heterodera glycines, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, Meloidogyne fallax, Ditylenchus dipsaci, Pratylenchus fallax and; emerging plant parasitic nematodes (Meloidogyne chitwoodi, Meloidogyne enterolobi) that represent a serious threat to important economic crops and the beach leaf disease (BLD) nematode (Litylenchus crenatae mccanni) to American beech trees. This review article will serve as a useful guide to researchers and diagnosticians in identifying important cyst and other nematodes. In addition, as beech leaf disease nematode spreads eastward, this information will be useful to foresters, ecologists, and plant pathologists for integrated control of BLD that can cause disruption in forest ecosystems.

Technical Abstract: Plant parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are important pests that cause an estimated ten billion dollars of crop loss each year in the United States and over 100 billion dollars globally. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains and updates the U.S. Regulated Plant Pest list. Currently, the number of PPNs regulated by APHIS includes more than 60 different species. This review focuses on the top ten most economically important regulated and emerging plant parasitic nematodes and summarizes the diagnostics of morphological and some molecular features for distinguishing them. These ten major previously described nematode species are associated with various economically important crops from around the world. This review also includes their current distribution in the U.S. and a brief historical background and updated systematic position of these species. The species included in this review include three PPNs considered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as invasive invertebrates Globodera pallida, Globodera rostochiensis, and Heterodera glycines, four regulated PPNs, namely Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, Meloidogyne fallax, Ditylenchus dipsaci, and Pratylenchus fallax, and the three emerging PPNs Meloidogyne chitwoodi, Meloidogyne enterolobi and Litylenchus crenatae mccanni.