Application of Morphological Characters and PCR- SCAR Markers for Identification of Dominant Species of Root-knot Nematode (Meloidogyne spp.) in Glasshouses of Cold Region of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Iran

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are one of the major limiting factors for the successful production of green-house crops، including tomatoes and cucumber. Accurate identification of nematodes is important in the management program. Identification of the dominant species of root-knot nematode in the cold region of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province (counties of Boyer-Ahmad and Dena)، Iran، was done based on morphology of J2s and females as well as PCR-SCAR. For molecular identification، by using DNA extraction kit، DNA extracted from a mixture of eggs and second stage juveniles. The SCAR primers Fjav/Rjav، Finc/Rinc and Far/Rar were used for producing species specific products of 670bp، 1200bp and 420bp. The Fjav/Rjav primer set، used to detect M. javanica، amplified a 670bp fragment in all of the studied populations. Based on the morphological and molecular studies، the species of the root-knot nematode was identified as M. javanica.