Intraspecific variability among Pratylenchus brachyurus: insights from an integrative taxonomy approach

Abstract The lesion nematode Pratylenchus brachyurus exhibits significant intraspecific variability in both morphology and genetic constitution and causes substantial damage to several crops in Brazil, including coffee and cotton. This study investigated the intraspecific variability of P. brachyurus populations with distinct geographic origins, originally collected from coffee and cotton fields, through morphometric and molecular characterizations, in order to evaluate the genetic variability of these populations. Four populations of P. brachyurus were evaluated: three originally sampled from coffee fields in São Paulo state (Dracena – PbDR, Franca – PbFR, and Garça – PbGA) and one originally collected from cotton field in Bahia (São Desidério – PbSD). Intraspecific variability was characterized by morphometric studies as well as molecular analyses of the ITS-1 region. The morphometric analyses revealed greater similarity among populations PbDR, PbFR, and PbSD in relation to PbGA, whereas the molecular analyses highlighted genetic variation among populations and intra-individual variability among ITS-1 clones obtained from the single PbGA female analyzed. The existence of intraspecific variation among P. brachyurus populations was demonstrated using an integrative taxonomy approach, combining morphometric and genetic evidence.