Characterization of Globodera rostochiensis (Tylenchida: Heteroderidae) associated with potato in Quebec, Canada

In August 2006, a ware potato field of 19 ha, in the Saint-Amable region, Quebec, Canada showed patches of poor growth. Roots of infested plants showed golden spherical shaped cysts. Cysts and second stage juveniles were extracted from soil and root samples. The cyst nematodes were subsequently identified as Globodera rostochiensis Wollenweber, 1923 (Behrens, 1975) by morphological and molecular methods. The cysts had the general characteristics of Globodera genus with a Granek's ratio of 4.4 (1.8-6.0). The second stage juvenile stylets were 21 (18-23) urn long with rounded knobs, the dorsal one sloping posteriorly. Polymerase chain reaction of the nematodes with the species-specific primers yielded a fragment of about 315 bp, consistent with the fragment from a known G. rostochiensis. The phylogenetic analysis inferred by the sequence of the rDNA ITS region confirmed the identity of the cyst nematode from Quebec, Canada as G. rostochiensis with 100% match to the G. rostochiensis from Russia, Peru, Japan and UK. © Her majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (2010).