Morphological variability and molecular phylogeny of the nematophagous fungus Monacrosporium drechsleri

Abstract

An isolate of the nematode-trapping fungus Monacrosporium drechsleri was collected from cultures of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne arenaria that had been maintained on tomato roots in greenhouse pots in Beltsville, Maryland. The plant-parasitic nematodes Heterodera glycines, Meloidogyne incognita and Pratylenchus zeae and the free-living nematodes Caenorhabditis elegans and Panagrellus redivivus were placed on colonies of M. drechsleri grown in Petri dishes to study ability of the isolate to trap various nematode hosts. None of the nematodes placed near adhesive knobs were motile within 1 d. To determine where M. drechsleri fits within the existing phylogeny of nematode-trapping fungi, the ITS1-ITS2 regions of rDNA and the nuclear gene EF1-α were sequenced for the new isolate of M. drechsleri, for the species M. parvicolle and M. lysipagum, and for an isolate of M. ellipsosporum distinct from the one listed in GenBank. Parsimony trees were constructed showing the closest molecular relative of M. drechsleri to be the newly sequenced isolate of M. ellipsosporum; the latter had a highly divergent sequence from the sequence recorded in GenBank for a different isolate of M. ellipsosporum. Unique, consistent and discrete morphological characters are absent in these related taxa, so an independent molecular character should be considered essential for their accurate identification.

• Arthrobotrys
• Caenorhabditis elegans
• Dactylella
• Dactylellina
• Gamsylella
• Heterodera glycines
• Meloidogyne incognita
• Monacrosporium
• Monacrosporium ellipsosporum
• Monacrosporium lysipagum
• Monacrosporium parvicolle
• nematode
• nematophagous fungus
• Panagrellus redivivus
• Pratylenchus zeae

We thank Robert Meyer, Paula Crowley, Sharon Ochs, Carol Masler and Ellen Buckley for assistance in the laboratory, Bruce Jaffee for fungus cultures, and the U.S. National Fungus Collection, Beltsville, for the loan of specimens. Mention of trade names or commercial products in thisPUBLICation is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.