IDENTIFICATION OF 4 MAJOR MELOIDOGYNE SPP BY RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA (RAPD-PCR)

The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) assay is a variant of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in which a single primer of random sequence is used at a low-annealing temperature. Twenty-two primers were evaluated for their usefulness in identifying 18 populations of Meloidogyne incognita, M. arenaria, M. javanica, and M. hapla collected worldwide. Reactions with primer OPA-01 produced amplified DNA bands whose size allowed the separation of the four species. Reactions with another group of 11 primers made possible the separation of one, two, or three species. Numerous polymorphisms were found between one population of race A and one of race B of M. hapla as well as between populations of M. arenaria. In contrast, the four races of M. incognita were indistinguishable.