Morphological and molecular characterization of Paratylenchus beltsvillensis n. sp. (Tylenchida: Paratylenchidae) from the rhizosphere of pine tree (Pinus virginiana Mill) in Maryland, USA

Mihail R Kantor; Zafar A Handoo; Sergei A Subbotin; Gary R Bauchan; Joseph D Mowery

doi:10.21307/jofnem-2021-079

Morphological and molecular characterization of Paratylenchus beltsvillensis n. sp. (Tylenchida: Paratylenchidae) from the rhizosphere of pine tree (Pinus virginiana Mill) in Maryland, USA

J Nematol. 2021 Sep 7:53:e2021-79. doi: 10.21307/jofnem-2021-079. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Mihail R Kantor¹, Zafar A Handoo¹, Sergei A Subbotin^{2

3}, Gary R Bauchan⁴, Joseph D Mowery⁴

Affiliations

¹ Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory, USDA, ARS, Northeast Area, Beltsville, MD, 20705.
² Plant Pest Diagnostic Center, California Department of Food and Agriculture, 3294 Meadowview Road, Sacramento, CA, 95832.
³ Center of Parasitology of A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii Prospect 33, Moscow, 117071, Russia.
⁴ Electron and Confocal Microscopy, USDA, ARS, Northeast Area, Beltsville, MD, 20705.

Abstract

The pin nematode, Paratylechus beltsvillensis n. sp. collected from rhizosphere soil of a Virginia pine tree (Pinus virginiana Mill) growing in Little Paint Branch Park, Beltsville, Prince George's County, Maryland, USA, is described and illustrated along with light and scanning electron photomicrographs. Females, males, and juveniles of this new species were recovered from soil samples using the sugar centrifugal flotation and Baermann funnel extraction methods. Morphologically, females are short, body length ranging from 245 to 267 μm, stylet from 70 to 75 μm long with anchor shaped knobs, vulva located at 70-73% and small vulval flap, spermatheca large, and ovoid filled with sperms. Lateral field with three incisures, of which the outer two are prominent. Tail slender, having a rounded tail terminus. Males without stylet and have a degenerated pharynx, spicules = 17-20 µm and gubernaculum = 5.0-5.5 µm. Both morphological observations and molecular analysis of ITS and partial 28S ribosomal RNA gene sequences indicated that the specimens collected from the soil at Beltsville Park from rhizosphere soil samples from Virginia pine represents a new pin nematode species.

Keywords: D2-D3 of 28S rRNA gene; Description; ITSrRNA gene; Morphology; Morphometrics; Phylogeny; Pin nematode; Pinus virginiana; Scanning electron microscopy; Virginia pine.