TABLE CONTENTS

Identification and Characterization of Meloidogyne spp. from Coffee Using
Morphological, Biochemical, and Molecular Approaches
Carneiro, R.M.D.G & E.T. Cofcewicz
EMBRAPA - Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, C.P. 02372, 70849-979 Brasilia, DF, Brazil
The identification of 17 described species of Meloidogyne on coffee is a difficult task even
for well qualified taxonomists because of the morphological similarity of the different
species. Characterization of these Meloidogyne species is based primarily on morphological
features of females, males and the second-stage juveniles. The esterase phenotypes (Est) were
considered until now the most pratical marker for species identification, but they were
available for only 12 of the species: M. incognita (Est I1 and I2), M. exigua (Est E1, E2), M.
coffeicola (Est C2), M. javanica (Est J3), M. hapla (Est H1), M. arenaria (Est A2), M.
paranaensis (Est P1=F1and Est P2), M. arabicida (Est Ar2), M. mayaguensis (Est M2), M.
izalcoensis (Est S4=I4) and M. inornata (Est I3). M. konaensis was reported as presenting
three different esterase phenotypes, but only the isolate with Est F1 (=P1) parasitized coffee.
Unfortunately, there are no enzymatic markers to identify: M. africana, M. decalineata, M.
kikuiensis, M. megadora and M. .oteifae and these species were not available for study from
international collections. In this presentation, brief descriptions of 17 Meloidogyne spp.,
parasitizing coffee in the Americas, Africa and Asia and comments about their intraspecific
variability, will be presented. The multiplex PCR (Scar primers) allows unambiguous
differentiation of the three main species in Brazil (M. exigua, M. incognita and M.
paranaensis), alone or in mixture, and its potential for application as a routine diagnostic
procedure was confirmed in field surveys. Enzymatic and molecular markers should be
developed for all Meloidogyne spp. that parasitize coffee.
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