Hemicriconemoides phoenicis Van den Berg et al., 2015 (Nematoda: Criconematidae) from Iran: a morphological and molecular phylogenetic study

Abstract

Summary A population of Hemicriconemoides phoenicis was recovered from Khuzestan province, south-western Iran, in association with date palm. The recovered population was characterised by 518-645 μm long females having a 76-82 μm long stylet, rounded to oblong spermatheca filled with sperm, a 28.0-39.8 μm long tail, juveniles common, with 14 longitudinal rows of rounded scales, and males absent. Compared to the original data, no morphological and morphometric differences were observed. In molecular phylogenetic analyses using the D2-D3 expansion segments of the 28S rRNA gene and a near-full-length fragment of the 18S rRNA gene sequences using Bayesian inference (BI) and maximal number of species of the genus, the two newly generated 28S sequences of the Iranian population formed a maximally supported clade with two original sequences of the species; and the 18S sequence formed a maximally supported clade with an unidentified isolate of the genus in the corresponding phylogeny. This is the second report of the species since its original description, Iran representing a new geographical record and supporting the suggestion that date palm could be its preferred host.