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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #405837
Research Project: Plant-associated Nematode Management and Systematics and USDA Nematode Collection Curation

Location: Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory

Title: First report of barley root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne naasi from turfgrass in Idaho, with multigene molecular characterization

Author
item Skantar, Andrea
item Handoo, Zafar
item KANTOR, MIHAIL - Pennsylvania State University
item Hult, Maria

Submitted to: Journal of Nematology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/3/2023
Publication Date: 6/28/2023
Citation: Skantar, A.M., Handoo, Z.A., Kantor, M.R., Hult, M.N. 2023. First report of barley root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne naasi from turfgrass in Idaho, with multigene molecular characterization. Journal of Nematology. 55(1). Article e2023-1. https://doi.org/10.2478/jofnem-2023-0051.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jofnem-2023-0051

Interpretive Summary: Nematodes are microscopic worms that cause billions of dollars in crop losses worldwide each year. Root-knot nematodes are an important group of nematodes that damage many kinds of plants, including turfgrasses, by invading the roots and interfering with nutrient uptake. Identifying these nematodes from soil can be very labor intensive and anatomical features of root knot nematodes are very similar in some species. In the present study, scientists from Beltsville, MD along with researchers from Pennsylvania State University, identified the barley root-knot nematode for the first time from a golf course in Idaho. The turfgrass industry has an estimated value of $40 billion according to the Economic Research Service, covering more than 700,000 athletic fields across the United States. The results are important for tracking the spread of root-knot nematodes into new regions so that steps to limit the damage can be implemented. This research will be used by researchers, diagnosticians, and golf course superintendants to accurately detect the barley root knot nematode from infested turfgrass and for directing management decisions.

Technical Abstract: Barley root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne naasi Franklin, 1965 is a one of the most important pest nematodes infecting monocots (Franklin, 1965). Two six-inch core soil samples collected from a golf course in Ada County, Idaho were submitted for identification in November of 2019. A high number of Meloidogyne sp. juveniles were recovered from both soil samples using the sugar centrifugal flotation method and were examined by light microscopy, morphometric measurements, and multiple molecular markers, including the ribosomal 28S D2-D3 and intergenic spacer 2 (IGS-2) regions, mitochondrial markers cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and the interval from COII to 16S, and the protein-coding gene Hsp90. BlastN comparisons with other root-knot nematode sequences from GenBank confirmed the identification as M. naasi, and phylogenetic phylogenetic trees inferred from 28S, IGS2, COI, or Hsp90 alignments each placed the Idaho population in a strongly supported clade with other populations of M. naasi, while the COII-16S interval could not resolve M. naasi from M. minor. This report represents the first record of Meloidogyne naasi from Idaho.