Morphological and molecular identifcation of cereal cyst nematodes from the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey

The morphological and molecular characteristics of 41 populations of cereal cyst nematodes (Heterodera avenae group)collected in Adana, Osmaniye, Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Gaziantep, and Kilis provinces in the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkeywere studied. Te morphological characters and morphometric features of second-stage juveniles and cysts showed the presence of 3Heterodera species: H. avenae , H. flipjevi, and H. latipons. All morphological values of these distinct populations were very similar tothose previously described for these species. Genetic variation was observed among the identifed cyst nematode species H. avenae, H.flipjevi, and H. latipons. Intraspecifc polymorphism was observed within H. avenae and H. latipons but not in H. flipjevi populations.Molecular analysis using ITS regions of rDNA confrmed the identities of the 3 Heterodera species. According to our results, 75% ofisolates were identifed as H. avenae , 15% as H. latipons, and 10% as H. flipjevi.