Abstract
Six isolates of Australian Aphelenchoidoidea, viz., Laimaphelenchus preissii
from native coniferous Callitris preissii trees, L. australis from the
common pine plantation trees of Pinus radiata and P. pinaster and L.
heidelbergi and two morphospecies of Aphelenchoides (H1 and K1) and
Cryptaphelenchus sp. (K2) from diseased P. radiata trees, were studied using
light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and phylogenetic analyses of
nearly full length sequences of SSU, D2/D3 expansion segments of LSU rDNA
and a fragment of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI). Bayesian phylogenetic
analyses of SSU, LSU and COI of the six nematode species revealed that none
of these Australian aphelenchoidoids was inferred to be closely related to
Bursaphelenchus. The selected isolates of Aphelenchoides and Laimaphelenchus
used in this study were paraphyletic in all molecular analyses.
Cryptaphelenchus sp. (K2) was inferred to be sister to Seinura with SSU
sequences.
