Amplified ITS region products of rDNA from 25 valid species and one unidentified species from the genus Heterodera and from Meloidodera alni were digested by 26 restriction enzymes. A combination of seven enzymes clearly separated the agriculturally most important species from each other and from their sibling species. Species specific digestion profiles of ITS regions and a table with approximate sizes of digested fragments for several identification enzymes are given. Heterogeneity of ITS regions was revealed for some cyst forming nematode species. Des fragments amplifiés de la région de l’ITS du rDNA de 25 espèces valides et d’une espèce non identifiée du genre Heterodera et de Meloidodera alni ont été soumis à une digestion par 26 enzymes de restriction. La combinaison de sept enzymes a permis une séparation nette des espèces les plus importantes en agriculture, tant les unes par rapport aux autres que par rapport aux espèces jumelles. Sont donnés les profils spécifiques de digestion des régions de l’ITS et un tableau regroupant les tailles approximatives des fragments digérés pour plusieurs enzymes d’identification. L’hétérogénéité des régions de l’ITS a été révélée chez quelques espèces de nématodes à kyste.

As the most abundant animals on earth, nematodes are a dominant component of the soil community. They play critical roles in regulating biogeochemical cycles and vegetation dynamics within and across landscapes and are an indicator of soil biological activity. Here, we present a comprehensive global dataset of soil nematode abundance and functional group composition. This dataset includes 6,825 georeferenced soil samples from all continents and biomes. For geospatial mapping purposes these samples are aggregated into 1,933 unique 1-km pixels, each of which is linked to 73 global environmental covariate data layers. Altogether, this dataset can help to gain insight into the spatial distribution patterns of soil nematode abundance and community composition, and the environmental drivers shaping these patterns.

The RFLP technique was used to establish a reliable diagnostic method for 18 Pratylenchus species: Pratylenchus agilis, P. bolivianus, P. brachyurus, P. coffeae, P. crenatus, P. fallax, P. goodeyi, P. loosi, P. mediterraneus, P. neglectus, P. penetrans, P. pratensis, P. pseudocoffeae, P. scribneri, P. subranjani, P. thornei, P. vulnus and P. zeae. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified the ITS regions from all species and populations examined and revealed large differences in length, ranging in size from approximately 900 to 1250 bp. The rDNA fragments were digested with five restriction enzymes (CfoI, DdeI, HindIII, HpaII, and PstI). All Pratylenchus species can be differentiated from each other by a combination of at least two enzymes. CfoI differentiated all nematode species with the exception of P. fallax, P. penetrans and P. pseudocoffeae. P. fallax was further separated by a DdeI restriction, and P. pseudocoffeae by a PstI digestion. Intraspecific RFLP were observed. Upon CfoI, DdeI, HindIII, or HpaII digestion, it was possible to separate the three P. coffeae populations studied from each other. La technique RFLP a été utilisée pour créer une méthode fiable de diagnostic pour 18 espèces de Pratylenchus: Pratylenchus agilis, P. bolivianus, P. brachyurus, P. coffeae, P. crenatus, P. fallax, P. goodeyi, P. loosi, P. mediterraneus, P. neglectus, P. penetrans, P. pratensis, P. pseudocoffeae, P. scribneri, P. subranjani, P. thornei, P. vulnus et P. zeae. La réaction de polymérisation en chaîne (PCR) a amplifié les régions de l’ITS pour toutes les espèces et populations étudiées et a mis en évidence de grandes différences dans la taille des gammes de longueur, de 900 à 1250 bp approximativement. Les fragments de rDNA ont été digérés à l’aide de cinq enzymes de restriction (CfoI, DdeI, HindIII, HpaII, and PstI). Toutes les espèces de Pratylenchus ont pu être différenciées les unes des autres par une combinaison d’au moins deux enzymes. CfoI a différencié toutes les espèces à l’exception de P. fallax, P. penetrans et P. pseudocoffeae. P. fallax a été ultérieurement séparé par une restriction DdeI, et P. pseudocoffeae par une digestion PstI. Des RFLP intraspécifiques ont été observés. Par les digestions CfoI, DdeI, HindIII, ou HpaII, il s’est révélé possible de séparer les unes des autres les trois populations étudiées de P. coffeae.

Nematodes are ideal biological indicators to monitor soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. For this reason, they have been receiving increasing attention from a broad range of scientists. The main method to characterize soil nematode communities until at least genus level is still based on microscopic observations of nematode morphology. Such an approach is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and requires specialized personnel. The first studies on the potential use of DNA-metabarcoding to characterize nematode communities showed some shortcomings: under- or overestimation of species richness caused by failure to detect a number of nematode species or caused by intraspecific sequence variants increasing the number of OTUs (operational taxonomic units) or ‘molecular’ species, and flaws in quantification. We set up experiments to optimize this metabarcoding approach. Our results provided new insights such as the drastic effect of different DNA-extraction methods on nematode species richness due to variation in lysis efficacy. Our newly designed primer set (18S rRNA gene, V4-V5 region) showed in silico an improved taxonomic coverage compared with a published primer set (18S rRNA gene, V6-V8 region). However, results of DNA-metabarcoding with the new primer set showed less taxonomic coverage, and more non-nematode reads. Thus, the new primer set might be more suitable for whole soil faunal analysis. Species-specific correction factors calculated from a mock community with equal amounts of different nematode species were applied on another mock community with different amounts of the same nematode species and on a biological sample spiked with four selected nematode species. Results showed an improved molecular quantification. In conclusion, DNA-metabarcoding of soil nematode communities is useful for monitoring shifts in nematode composition but the technique still needs further optimization to enhance its precision.