Abstract

Several nematode species related to potato have been documented. Among these, the potato rot nematode, Ditylenchus destructor (Thorne) may cause important losses in potato yields. Proper identification of nematode species and isolates is important. To verify species identification, the populations of D. destructor from Iran and the Russian Federation were tested for differences using PCR with species-specific primers for the rapid and reliable result. New sequences deposited in the Genbank under accession numbers MN307126, MN307128 and MN493767 from Iran populations, and MN658597, MN658599, MN658637 and MN658638 from Russian populations. Phylogenetic studies of the ITS-rDNA region of D. destructor put it in a distinct clade.