First Report of Bitylenchus hispaniensis, Pratylenchoides alkani, and Helicotylenchus vulgaris in Association with Cultivated and Wild Olives in Crete, Greece and Molecular Identification of Helicotylenchus microlobus and Merlinius brevidens

Nematode samplings in cultivated and wild olive in Crete, Greece, yielded the presence of Bitylenchus hispaniensis, Helicotylenchus microlobus, Helicotylenchus vulgaris, Merlinius brevidens, and Pratylenchoides alkani. With the exception of H. microlobus and M. brevidens, reports of these plant-parasitic nematode species constitute new records for Greece. Bitylenchus hispaniensis is also reported for first time in a country outside of Spain, where it was originally described. Pratylenchoides alkani is herein reported for the second time in the Mediterranean area and for the first time in association with olive. Two further populations of H. microlobus and H. vulgaris, from walnut and goji berry from Greece, were identified. Molecular data for all of these nematode species are provided, resulting in the first integrative identification of these Greek populations.This research was partially funded by grant KBBE 219262 ArimNET-ERANET FP7 2012 to 2015 Project PESTOLIVE “Contribution of olive history for the management of soilborne parasites in the Mediterranean basin” from the Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DEMETER and Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), grant AGR-136 from “Consejería de Economía, Innvovación y Ciencia” from Junta de Andalucía, and Union Europea, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo regional, “Una manera de hacer Europa.” Maria S. Lazanaki was employed by the ARIMNET-PESTOLIVE project.Peer reviewe

Presence of Longidoridae (Xiphinema and Longidorus) nematodes in grapevine, cultivated olive and wild olive in Crete

Trabajo presentado en el XVI Panhellenic Entomological Congress, celebrado en Heraklion del 20 al 23 de octubre de 2015.The presence of the nematodes Xiphinema and Longidorus (Longidoridae) was studied in the rhizosphere of grapevine, cultivated olive and wild olive. Soil samples from grapevines were brought in the lab by farmers for investigation while samples from olives were collected in the framework of ARIMNET-PESTOLIVE project Morphological and morphometric studies combined with molecular techniques were applied for nematode identification. Five species of Longidorus and seven species Xiphinema were found in totaL Longidorus closelongatus, L moesicus, and L pseudoelongatus were found in grapevine and _olive with the two last species recorded for first time in Greece. L orientalis was found only in grapevine something that consists a new record for Greece and an unusual record for Europe. L cretensis, which was first described in Crete in 2001 and has never been reported elsewhere, was found in both crops. Xiphinema pachtaicum and X italiae which are widespread along the Mediterranean basin, were found in both crops. X simile, was found in grapevine and consists a new record for the country. X index, beside in grapevine where is quite common, was found ata low percentage (1 ,5%) in cultivated olive. Even though this nematode is not a virus vector in olive, it could be potentially damaging in grapevines adjacent to cultivated olives. X israeliae was found in cultivated and wild ol ives; its presence consists the second record worldwide, after the original identification of the species in IsraeL Furthermore, two new species were described for first time, X cretense n.sp in cultivated olive and X herak/iense n.sp in both wild and cultivated olive. All the nematodes mentioned above, were found in the rhizosphere of olive but it is not confirmed whether olives or/and weeds are their hosts. Except Xindex, no other species has ever been reported as a virus vector. The most important finding is the presence of X israeliae and the two new species X cretense and X herakliense; a study on their biology and their potential to be virus vectors consists a quite interesting resea rch area.N

Integrative diagnosis and molecular phylogeny of dagger and needle nematodes of olives and grapevines in the island of Crete, Greece, with description of Xiphinema cretense n. sp. (Nematoda, Longidoridae)

The occurrence and geographic distribution of longidorid nematode species inhabiting the rhizosphere of cultivated and wild olive and grapevine in Crete Island were investigated. Morphological and morphometrical studies identified five Longidorus and six Xiphinema species, with frequencies of prevalence (for wild and cultivated olives and grapevines, respectively) as follows: Longidorus closelongatus (2.0–13.3 %), L. cretensis (1.0–6.7 %), L. moesicus (13.3 % only in grapevines), L. orientalis (3.3 % only in grapevines), L. pseudoelongatus (7.0 % only in olives), Xiphinema cretense n. sp. (3.0 % only in olives), X. index (3.0–23.3 %), X. israeliae (6.3 % only in olives), X. italiae (3.3–10.0 %), X. pachtaicum (26.7–42 %) and X. simile (3.3 % only in grapevines). Xiphinema cretense n. sp. is characterized by a body size 3,872–6,135 μm long, lip region anteriorly rounded, separated from the rest of the body by a depression, odontostyle and odontophore 140.6 and 80.3 μm long respectively, vulva position at 46.0–50.5 %, female tail 31.0–38.0 μm long, nearly hemispherical with curvature essentially dorsal and with a tip completely rounded or presenting a very short bulge, c ratio (119.1–186.9), c’ ratio (0.7–0.8). Molecular characterisation using D2-D3 expansion regions of 28S rRNA, 18S rRNA and ITS1-rRNA was carried out and maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analysis were used to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among these species and with other longidorids.This research was supported by grant KBBE 219262 ArimNET-ERANET FP7 2012–2015 Project PESTOLIVE ‘Contribution of olive history for the management of soilborne parasites in the Mediterranean basin’ from Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DEMETER and Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), grant AGR-136 from ‘Consejería de Economía, Innvovación y Ciencia’ from Junta de Andalucía, and Union Europea, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo regional, “Una manera de hacer Europa”. E. Nasiou and M.S. Lazanaki are employed by the ARIMNET-PESTOLIVE project. The seventh author is a recipient of a “Juan de La Cierva” contract from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain.Peer Reviewe