Morphological and molecular characterization and phylogenetic position of a new record, Tylenchorhynchus zeae, and some known species of Telotylenchidae Siddiqi, 1960 and Merliniidae Siddiqi, 1971 from Iran

Abstract

In order to identify the plant-parasitic nematodes associated with Berberis vulgaris, Crocus sativus, and Ziziphus zizyphus, 360 soil samples were collected from the rhizosphere of these plants in the South Khorasan Province of Iran during 2012–2014. Among the identified species, Tylenchorhynchus zeae Sethi and Swarup, 1968 of Telotylenchidae Siddiqi, 1960 is a new record from Iran and the isolate is described and illustrated based on morphological, morphometric, and molecular characteristics. The phylogenetic tree inferred from partial sequences of the 28S rRNA (D2D3 segments) grouped the Iranian isolate with other T. zeae sequences, forming a strongly supported clade (Bayesian posterior probability: 100%). T. zeae is reported here for the first time on Ziziphus zizyphus for Iranian nematofauna. Additional morphological and molecular information is also provided for other species including Amplimerlinius globigerus, Merlinius brevidens, Pratylenchoides alkani, P. ritteri, Scutylenchus rugosus, S. tartuensis, and Trophurus impar from B. vulgaris, C. sativus, and Z. zizyphus in Iran.