Previous finding of Meloidogyne ethiopica in Slovenia is now attributed to Meloidogyne luci
Meloidogyne luci is a root-knot nematode which was recently described (Carneiro et al., 2014). This new species has been found parasitizing vegetables, fruit trees and ornamental plants in Brazil, Iran, Chile, and Guatemala. As reported in EPPO RS 2011/004, a population of Meloidogyne sp. was isolated in 2003 from heavily infested tomato roots (Lycopersicum esculentum cv. ‘Belle’) grown in a glasshouse located in the village of Dornberk, Slovenia. At that time, the pest was identified as Meloidogyne ethiopica. As this was the first record for Slovenia and Europe, M. ethiopica was added to the EPPO Alert List. It was stressed that this new population was not considered to be established as all infested plants had been destroyed and the nematode not found again. During recent studies (multi locus mitochondrial DNA analysis) on 80 populations of Meloidogyne species collected from a wide range of geographical origins and host plants, it was found the population from Dornberk (Slovenia), originally identified as M. ethiopica, corresponded in fact to M. luci.
According to the literature, M. luci has been found on the following plant species: Abelmoschus esculentus (okra), Actinidia deliciosa (kiwifruit), Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon), Brassica oleracea var. italica (broccoli), Cucumis sativus (cucumber), Daucus carota (carrot), Glycine max (soybean), Hylotelephium spectabile (sedum), Lactuca sativa (lettuce), Lavandula angustifolia (lavender), Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean), Polymnia sonchifolia (yakon), Rosa sp. (rose), Solanum lycopersicum (tomato), Vitis vinifera (grapevine). At least on bean, tomato, and soybean crops, symptoms of decline and stunting, as well as root galling have been reported. The currently known geographical distribution of M. luci can be summarized as follows:
EPPO region: Absent. M. luci (initially identified as M. ethiopica) was found in 2003 on tomatoes in 1 glasshouse located in Dornberk, Slovenia. All infested plants were destroyed and this nematode was no longer found.
South America: Brazil (Distrito Federal, Rio Grande do Sul, Parana), Chile, Guatemala.
Asia: Iran.
Sources
Bellé C, Brum D, Groth MZ, Barros DR, Kaspary TE, Schafer JT, Gomes CB (2016) First report of Meloidogyne luci parasitizing Glycine max in Brazil. Plant Disease 100(11), p 2174.
Carneiro RMDG, Correa VR, Almeida MRA, Gomes ACMM, Deimi AM, Castagnone-Sereno P, Karssen, G (2014) Meloidogyne luci n. sp. (Nematoda: Meloidogynidae), a root-knot nematode parasitising different crops in Brazil, Chile and Iran. Nematology 16(3), 289-301.
Janssen T, Karssen G, Verhaeven M, Coyne D, Bert W (2015) Mitochondrial coding genome analysis of tropical root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne) supports haplotype based diagnostics and reveals evidence of recent reticulate evolution. Scientific Reports 6, 22591. DOI: 10.1038/srep22591
Machado ACZ, Dorigo OF, Carneiro RMDG, de Araujo Filho JV (2016) Meloidogyne luci, a new infecting nematode species on common bean fields at Paraná State, Brazil. Helminthologia 53(2), 207-210.