Characterization of Vittatidera zeaphila (Nematoda: Heteroderidae) from Indiana with molecular phylogenetic analysis of the genus

In the summer of 2016, a field of corn (Zea mays) in Spencer County, Indiana was observed with heavily stunted plants, and from the affected roots a large number of cysts were recovered. Soil samples were submitted to one of us (JF), who extracted the nematode cysts and sent them to the USDA-ARS, Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory (MNGDBL), Beltsville, MD for morphological and molecular identification. Cysts and the recovered second-stage juveniles (J2) that were examined morphologically conformed to the measurements of Vittatidera zeaphila, the goose cyst nematode originally described from Tennessee, USA in 2010. The molecular analysis of J2 showed the sample from Spencer County matched exactly with V. zeaphila according to ribosomal DNA markers ITS, 28S, and 18S, and with mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI). The nuclear marker heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) was also analyzed for the first time from the Indiana population of V. zeaphila. Similarities to existing cyst nematode sequences are reported herein. Geographically, although the county is across the Ohio River from Kentucky, the previously reported Hickman County, Kentucky location and Indiana detection are approximately 200 miles apart. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of V. zeaphila in Indiana.