Meloidogyne luci n. sp. (Nematoda: Meloidogynidae), a root-knot nematode parasitising different crops in Brazil, Chile and Iran

A new root-knot nematode parasitising vegetables, flowers and fruits in Brazil, Iran and Chile, is described as Meloidogyne luci n. sp. The female has an oval to squarish perineal pattern with a low to moderately high dorsal arc and without shoulders, similar to M. ethiopica. The female stylet is robust and 15-16 μm long; the distance from the dorsal pharyngeal gland orifice to the stylet base (DGO) is 3-4 μm. Males have a high, rounded head cap continuous with the body contour. The labial disc is fused with the medial lips to form an elongated lip structure. The head region is not marked by incomplete annulations. Male stylet robust, 20.8-23.0 μm long with rounded knobs; the DGO is 2.5-4.5 μm. The stylet of second-stage juveniles (J2) is 12.0-13.5 μm long and the DGO to the stylet base is 2.3-3.3 μm. The J2 tail is conoid with finely rounded terminus and is 40.0-48.5 μm long. Biochemically, the esterase phenotype L3 (: 1.05, 1.10, 1.25) is unique and is the most useful character to differentiate M. luci n. sp. from all other Meloidogyne species. Reproduction is by mitotic parthenogenesis (2n = 42-46 chromosomes). In a differential host test, the population from Lavandula spica, Caxias do Sul, RS State, Brazil, reproduced on tomato cv. Rutgers, tobacco cv. NC95 and pepper cv. California Wonder. No reproduction occurred on watermelon cv. Charleston Gray, cotton cv. Deltapine 61 or peanut cv. Florunner. In Neighbour-Joining analyses of ITS and D2-D3 rRNA sequences, populations of M. luci n. sp. from Brazil, Chile and Iran clustered together and were clearly separated from other Meloidogyne spp., thus confirming that all three populations are very similar and conspecific.