John J. Chitambar

Characterisation of populations of Longidorus orientalis Loof, 1982 (Nematoda: Dorylaimida) from date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in the USA and other countries and incongruence of phylogenies inferred from ITS1 rRNA and coxI genes

Needle nematode populations of Longidorus orientalis associated with date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, and detected during nematode surveys conducted in Arizona, California and Florida, USA, were characterised morphologically and molecularly. The nematode species most likely arrived in California a century ago with propagative date palms from the Middle East and eventually spread to Florida on ornamental date palms that were shipped from Arizona and California. This is the first validated continental record of this needle nematode species in the USA and the Americas. The USA populations of L. orientalis contained a small number of males that were not reported in the original description and are herein described. Longidorus orientalis was able to survive for at least 4 years at very low numbers in the warm and humid environment of Florida on date palms imported from California and Arizona. Association of L. orientalis with L. africanus was observed in all of the surveyed sites, indicating that date palm is a host of both nematodes. Phylogenetic relationships of L. orientalis with closely related Longidorus species, in addition to relationships between populations of L. orientalis from the USA, Greece, Iran and Spain, were inferred from the analyses of D2-D3 of 28S rRNA, ITS1 rRNA and partial coxI gene sequences. The PCR-D2-D3 expansion segments of 28S rDNA-RFLP diagnostic profile is provided. Longidorus orientalis populations display a high level of intraspecific variation (up to 15.5%) in coxI mtDNA sequences. Analysis of phylogenetic relationships of nematode populations revealed incongruence of the ITS1 rRNA and coxI mtDNA gene trees, which might be the result of selective introgression of mtDNA through gene flow between previously isolated populations introduced simultaneously into new geographical regions.

Hemicaloosia vagisclera n. sp. (Nematoda: Caloosiidae) from Bermuda grass in Florida and its phylogenetic relationships with other criconematids

Hemicaloosia vagisclera n. sp. is described from Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) in Florida. This new species is characterised by females with body slightly ventrally arcuate in death, face with a prominent elliptical oral disc, large amphids, slender stylet with mean length 64 μm, lateral field consisting of a single longitudinal line marked by continuous and discontinuous transverse striae, oval and full spermatheca, sclerotised vagina vera and tail annuli width greater than that of remaining body annuli. Diagnostic characters for the males are a C-shaped body, head with 4-5 faint lip annuli and pronounced oval oral disc, lateral field with two longitudinal lines intersected by transverse striae, tail digitate in the distal portion posterior to bursa, distinctly annulated and with a round terminus. Molecular characterisation of H. vagisclera n. sp. using the D2-D3 domain of 28S rRNA, partial 18S rRNA and ITS rRNA gene sequences is also provided. The phylogenetic relationships of this species with other representatives of the suborder Criconematina are presented and indicate that H. vagisclera n. sp. has sister relationships with Caloosia longicaudata supporting the classification of Caloosia together with Hemicaloosia as separate genera in the family Caloosiidae. A diagnostic PCR-ITS-RFLP profile for H. vagisclera n. sp. is also given together with an identification key for seven known species of Hemicaloosia.

Molecular and morphological characterisation of Xiphinema americanum-group species (Nematoda: Dorylaimida) from California, USA, and other regions, and co-evolution of bacteria from the genus Candidatus Xiphinematobacter with nematodes

The Xiphinema americanum -group is a large species complex containing more than 50 nematode species. They are economically important because they are vectors of nepoviruses. The species differentiation of X. americanum -group is problematic because the species share similar morphological characters. In the present study we collected nematode samples from different locations in the USA, Italy and Russia. Six valid species, X. americanum s. str. , X. brevicolle , X. californicum , X. pachtaicum , X. rivesi and X. simile , and four unidentified putative Xiphinema species were characterised by morphology and sequencing of D2-D3 of 28S rRNA, ITS1 rRNA and mitochondrial COI genes. New nematode sequences generated totalled 147. Phylogenetic relationships of the X. americanum -group species reconstructed by Bayesian inference for D2-D3 of 28S rRNA gene sequences did not provide clear species delimitation of the samples studied, although the mtDNA presented interspecific variations useful for demarcation among species. Xiphinema americanum s. str. , X. californicum , X. pachtaicum , X. rivesi , and two unidentified Xiphinema species were found in 72 soil samples from California. We also reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships using partial 16S rRNA gene sequences within endosymbiotic bacteria of the genus Candidatus Xiphinematobacter and provided solid evidence for distinguishing 17 species of this genus based on the analysis of new and previously published sequences. Fifty-five new bacterial sequences were obtained in the present study and comparison of the bacterial 16S rRNA and nematode COI phylogenies revealed a high level of co-speciation events between host and symbiont.

Systematics of the sheath nematodes of the superfamily Hemicycliophoroidea

Dedication Foreword Preface Acknowledgements 1. Systematics of the superfamily Hemicycliophoroidea 2. Morphology 3. Biology 4. Ecology 5. Phylogenetic relationships 6. Molecular diagnostics 7. Systematics of the family Hemicycliophoridae 8. Systematics of the genus Hemicycliophora 9. Polytomous key to the species of Hemicycliophora 10. Dichotomous key to the species of Hemicycliophora 11. Description and diagnosis of Hemicycliophora species 12. Systematics of the family Caloosiidae 13. Systematics of the genus Caloosia 14. Systematics of the genus Hemicaloosia References Index of nematode Latin names Index of plant Latin names