Diagnosis and Characterization of Isolated from in China.

The potato rot nematode () is one of the most destructive pests in the production of tuber crops, resulting in severely decreased yields and inferior product quality. In 2021, a great number of nematodes were detected in the roots of , a weed that is harmful to crop growth, in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. The present study was undertaken to characterize and identify the nematodes isolated from through morphological identification and molecular approaches. Their morphological characteristics were highly consistent with the descriptions of Thorne, 1945. The nematodes collected from were identified as haplotype B using D1/D2 and sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) primers. PCR-ITS-RFLP analysis was conducted to monitor intraspecific variations. In addition, the phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) demonstrated that this population was clustered in haplotype B, supported by a 100% bootstrap value. Another assay, in which was inoculated with a mixture of the life stages of , was performed. This assay showed that exhibited a high susceptibility to in pots. This is the first record of parasitizing in China, and it is of great importance because could be a potential reservoir for in the field.