Institution of the Agricultural Research and Higher Education
Abstract
A survey was conducted in Tunisia to detect the presence of plant parasitic nematodes associated to
olive trees. A high infection of olive roots and soil by the cyst nematode Heterodera mediterranea was
detected in olive orchards located in the region of Moknine (Monastir, Sahel of Tunisia). Integrative
taxonomic approaches (morphological, morphometrical and molecular analyses) were carried out in
order to characterize the Tunisian population of H. mediterranea. Phylogenetic analyses of the ITS
region, the D2-D3 expansion segments of the 28S rRNA gene and 18S rRNA gene highly supported
that H. mediterranea from Tunisia belongs to the Schachtii group. So far, this is the first report of this
nematode in Tunisia