AMPLIFIED FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISMS OF MELOIDOGYNE SPP USING OLIGONUCLEOTIDE PRIMERS

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was applied to determine th e identity and infraspecific forms of the root-knot nematodes Meloidog yne arenaria, M. hapla, M. incognita and M. javanica. Amplified fragme nt length polymorphisms (AFLP) from primers Cyto 1, Cyto 2, Rpmc 62 an d Rpmt 63 showed that the Meloidogyne populations tested had genome he terogeneity. With the Cyto 1 and Cyto 2 primers, the amplified regions at 0.54, 0.95, 1.10, and 1.20 kb were highly conserved between tested populations. The bands at 2.00 kb and 2.50 kb were species specific f or M. incognita and the bands at 1.65 kb differentiated M. hapla and M . javanica from M. incognita and M. arenaria. The band at 0.85 kb, amp lified from primer Rpmc 62 and Rpmt 63, could be a specific band for M . incognita race 4. The diversified sequences that were showed by spec ies-specific and race-specific DNA fragments could have practical appl ication as diagnostic probe sequences and in the study of phylogenetic relationships.