Morphological and Molecular Identification of Pratylenchus goodeyi Associated with Banana in Tanzania

Abstract

Banana (Musa sp. [L]) is an important staple food and cash crop for about 30 percent of the total population in Tanzania. Root lesion nematodes, particularly Pratylenchus goodeyi, are among the major pests affecting banana production in Tanzania. A combination of morphological and molecular approaches is required for accurate identification of nematodes. In this study, 80 P. goodeyi isolates affecting bananas in Tanzania were identified. Sequence analysis of part of the small subunit (SSU), large subunit (LSU) and internal transcribed spacers (ITS) regions of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) confirmed the morphological identification of P. goodeyi. DNA sequences were analysed using Geneious version 11.0 software and phylogenetic relationship was constructed using Bayesian inference (BI) method. Morphological identification shows that P. goodeyi in this study resembles P. goodeyi identified from other parts of the world and their sequences clustered closely (98.6 – 99.9 % similarity) with other P. goodeyi sequences in the GenBank. The results obtained from this study will provide an insight on the presence of harmful root lesion nematodes in Tanzanian bananas, contributing to further studies aimed at developing efficient nematode management strategies in Tanzania.

Keywords: Genetic variation; Morphology; Musa sp.; Root lesion nematode;