Species delimitation of nematode Meloidogyne species using COI marker

New-generation molecular approaches and methods are currently being developed to accurately identify species and establish species boundaries. Various approaches to species delimitation are utilized to evaluate the species richness of poorly studied and highly diverse taxa. DNA barcoding has proven to be a powerful tool for species identification and delimitation. While DNA barcoding studies have been conducted in the family Heteroderidae, there has been a lack of research on species delimitation. Therefore, in 2024, a study was undertaken at the University of Limpopo to compare species delimitation analyses within the Meloidogyne genus based on the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) region. In this study, ASAP species delimitation approaches were employed. A total of 73 sequences from South Africa were utilised (GenBank), representing four species (Meloidogyne sp, M. incognita, M. javanica, and M. enterolobii). The phylogenetic analyses grouped all the species into two major clades, with M. enterolobii being distinctly separate. In conclusion, the ASAP results showed no significant differences among the species. Therefore, the COI marker is not a suitable marker for Meloidogyne species.