Morphological and Molecular Identification of Two Florida Populations of Foliar Nematodes (<i>Aphelenchoides</i>spp.) Isolated From Strawberry With the Description of<i>Aphelenchoides pseudogoodeyi</i>sp. n. (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae) and Notes on Their Bionomics

Abstract

Two Florida populations of foliar nematodes were collected from strawberries originating from Cashiers, North Carolina (USA) located west from Willard, the type locality of <i>Aphelenchoides besseyi.</i> Both nematodes were cultured on <i>Monilinia fructicola</i> and identified using morphological characteristics and molecular assays as <i>Aphelenchoides besseyi</i> and <i>Aphelenchoides pseudogoodeyi</i> sp. n., a herein described new species related to <i>Aphelenchoides goodeyi</i> belonging to the Group of <i>Aphelenchoides</i> exhibiting stellate tails. The morphological and biological characters of Florida <i>A. besseyi</i> fit those of the original description of this species. <i>A. pseudogoodeyi</i> sp. n., which was initially misidentified as <i>Aphelenchoides fujianensis,</i> differed from the type population of the latter species from China because it was without males, and females lacked a functional spermatheca, whereas type <i>A. fujianensis</i> is an amphimictic species. Phylogenetic analyses using near full-length 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA), the D2-D3 expansion fragments of 28S rRNA, and partial <i>COI</i> gene sequences indicated that <i>A. besseyi</i> is a species complex. <i>A. pseudogoodeyi</i> sp. n. grouped in different clades from those of the type <i>A. fujianensis,</i> instead merging with populations identified of '<i>A. fujianensis'</i> from Brazil and other countries, suggesting that the latter are conspecific and incorrectly identified. The Florida <i>A. besseyi</i> infected strawberry and gerbera daisy, but not soybean and alfalfa. <i>A. pseudogoodeyi</i> sp. n. is mainly mycetophagous. Localized inoculation of 300 specimens applied with filter paper adhering to the blade of the soybean leaves resulted in nematode penetration into the mesophyll with subsequent development of lesions limited to the inoculated area of the blade.