Molecular diagnostics and variability of longidorid nematodes.

PCR-RFLP and sequencing approaches of ribosomal DNA are being used to study taxonomy, molecular identification and phylogeny of plant parasitic nematodes. In this paper, we discuss the usefulness of ITS PCR-RFLP analysis to differentiate among longidorid species. In addition, we examined how well ITS PCR-RFLP differentiated between longidorid species, and how well sequencing of two different ribosomal regions, the ITS containing region and D1-D2 domains of the 26S rDNA, were able to infer phylogenetic relationships among those same species. These methods and their advantages in identifying longidorids and establishing their phylogenetic relationships are examined and discussed.