First report and molecular confirmation of the potential entomopathogenic nematode Oscheius tipulae in Baghdad, Iraq

Abstract

A survey was conducted from five locations with three different field sites in Baghdad ,Iraq. The nematodes  were recovered from soil samples and  isolated  from  Galleria  mellonella  larvae  as  baits.  The  nematode isolate  was  found  in  the  region  of  Al-Usefya(Alfalfa).  Nucleotide sequence analysis of partial (cox1) gene confirmed Oscheius tipulae identification when shared maximum 97% nucleotide identity with equivalent sequence from NCBI. Neighbor tree showed high relatedness of O.tipulae with British isolate CP0590341 suggesting common origin. The Oscheius  tipulae  isolate  was  the  first record of one local species in  Iraq.