Morphological and molecular characters of three Ditylenchus species from Iran

Abstract

During a survey of soil nematodes in Iran, some known species belonging to the genus Ditylenchus were recovered from the rhizosphere of alfalfa: Ditylenchus acutus, Ditylenchus myceliophagus and Ditylenchus terricolus. Measurements and illustrations are provided for these species. A molecular study of the 28S rDNA region of the Ditylenchus species from Iran placed them in separate clades. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that Ditylenchus destructor is a monophyletic taxon. In addition, D. acutus places together with D. destructor, Ditylenchus arachis, Ditylenchus sarvarae, Ditylenchus persicus and Ditylenchus halictus in a clade. While D. myceliophagus and D. terricolus form a separate clade. Phylogenetic positions and morphometrics of D. acutus, D. myceliophagus and D. terricolus are given