Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi Tarım ve Doğa Dergisi, vol.26, no.1, pp.62-69, 2023 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Meloidogyne chitwoodi is an invasive nematode that can cause economic damage to agricultural areas in many parts of the world. The identification of plant parasitic nematodes is basically carried out by observation of morphologic characteristics and morphometric parameters. However, it is not always possible to obtain certain results with the use of published original descriptions and diagnostic keys. Therefore, in this study, nematode samples isolated from potato tubers collected from the Central Anatolia region during the production season of 2018 and 2019 were determined molecularly by PCR-based diagnosis method using JMVhapla, JMV1 and JMV2 primer sets; and morphologically using morphometric measurements and perineal pattern. PCR reactions yielded 540 bp bands. As a result of both methods, the nematode species was determined as Meloidogyne chitwoodi. Phylogenetic analysis and pairwise distance were performed to evaluate the relationships of local populations with other Meloidogyne species. After phylogeny studies, it was determined that the populations were 99% similar to both the Turkish population and other populations. Compared to other sequences of published local isolates, the Niğde isolate in this study showed quiet similarity with Nevşehir (KF557791.1) isolate. As a result of this study, the data on M. chitwoodi, which causes damage in the potato growing areas of the Central Anatolia Region, has been updated.