Abstract

Dorylaim nematodes are the main nematodes that live in the soil. Dorylaim nematode is a predator which uses other nematodes as their food and hence, a possibility to against plant-parasitic nematode. Therefore, this molecular study was conducted in 2017 at the North West University to identify the soil nematodes from South Africa’s using 18S rDNA marker. The recovered nematode was extracted using the tray method, and then its DNA was extracted using the chelex method. The nematode was identified as Discolaimium. Afterward, 18S rDNA was amplified using specific primers to identify thenematode. The Nblast analysis based on the small subunit ribosomal DNA showed South African Discolaimium has 97% similarity (MG921261) with Chinese population of Discolaimium. Phylogenetic analysis using maximum likelihood placed this species with nthose molecularly identified as Discolaimium in the same clade with highly supported (100) bootstrap values. Inconclusion, this species is identified using 18S rDNA properly. However, using other DNA markers for a better understanding of Discolaimium phylogeny is recommended.