Meloidogyne enterolobii intercepted from lilyturf (Liriope spp.) seedlings from Costa Rica during Japanese import plant quarantine inspection

Abstract

In October 2019, root-knot nematodes (RKNs) were intercepted from the galled roots of lilyturf (Liriope spp.) seedlings from Costa Rica during an import plant quarantine inspection at Chubu Centrair International Airport, Japan. The intercepted RKN population was identified by morphological and molecular analyses as the guava root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne enterolobii Yang and Eisenback. The morphology and morphometrics of the intercepted RKN population were consistent with those of original and subsequent descriptions of M. enterolobii. The species identification was confirmed by sequence and phylogenetic analyses of the D2-D3 of 28S rRNA, mtDNA intergenic COII-16S rRNA, and the COI gene. We also confirmed the species identification via PCR using M. enterolobii species-specific primers. Although L. muscari cv. Evergreen Giant has been reported as a good host for M. enterolobii using an artificial inoculation test, to date no studies have reported natural infection of lilyturf by M. enterolobii. Therefore, this is the first report of natural infection of lilyturf by M. enterolobii.