Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology 12 (2009) 155–157

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Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / j a p e

Description of Helicotylenchus zeidani sp. nov., a new species of nematode from

Guneid sugarcane, Sudan
G.A.A. Elbadri a, Il Sung Moon b, P. Wani c, K. Bukhari c, Dong Woon Lee d, Ho Yul Choo e,⁎
a
Agricultural Research Corporation, Crop Protection Research Center, P. O. Box, 126, Wad Medani, Sudan
b
Korean Forest Research Institute, Southern Forest Research Center, Jinju, 660-300. Republic of Korea
c
Sugarcane Research Centre — Guneid (SRC-G), C/O Sudanese Sugarcane Company Ltd, P. O. Box, 511, Khartoum, Sudan
d
Department of Applied Biology, Kyungpook National University, Sangju, 742-711, Republic of Korea
e
Department of Applied Biology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Gyeongnam,
660-701, Republic of Korea

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A study was done on the taxonomy and morphology of plant parasitic nematodes (Tylenchida) found in a
Received 14 February 2009 Guneid sugarcane factory field of Saccharum officinarum (sugarcane), in Gezira state, Sudan. The samples
Revised 20 February 2009 were collected from around the root zone of sugarcane stools at a depth of 10 to 15 cm. One new species
Accepted 25 February 2009
belonging to Hoplolaimidae was identified and studied. Helicotylenchus zeidani sp. nov. is characterized by a
smooth head and a conical tail with a projection. It is 0.72 mm (0.62 to 0.81 mm) long, a = 32.4 (25.6 to
Keywords:
Helicotylenchus zeidani sp. nov.
36.6), c = 36.9 (29.2 to 53.1) with a medium sized body and shorter stylet.
Plant parasitic nematode © Korean Society of Applied Entomology, Taiwan Entomological Society and Malaysian Plant Protection
Sugarcane Society, 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Sudan

Introduction Materials and methods

Injury to sugarcane caused by plant parasitic nematodes has been
known for nearly a century (Winchester, 1969). More than 275 species
of 48 genera of endo- and ecto-parasitic nematodes have been
recorded from the roots and/or rhizophere of sugarcane (Spaul and
Cadet, 1991).
Endoparasitic nematodes, such as Pratylenchus spp. and Rado-
pholus spp., are important in sugarcane. Pratylenchus zea was found
to be of primary importance of sugarcane in Panama (Pinochet,
1987) and it is among the most important nematodes associated
with cane in South Africa (Cadet and Spaul, 1985). In Sudan, many
species of Helicotylenchus have been recorded, viz Helicotylenchus
babikeri, H. abuharazi, H. digitatus, H. microcephalus, H. conicephalus,
H. dihystera, H. egyptiensis, and H. multicinctus (Zeidan, 1991). Our
objective was to study and classify new species of plant parasitic
nematodes found in sugarcane at the Guneid Sugarcane Factory field
in Gezira state, Sudan.
⁎ Corresponding author. Fax: +82 55 751 5444.
E-mail address: hychoo@gnu.ac.kr (H.Y. Choo).
1226-8615/$ – see front matter © Korean Society of Applied Entomology, Taiwan Entomological Society and Malaysian Plant Protection Society, 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.
All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.aspen.2009.02.007
Fifty soil samples were collected from Guneid Sugar Estates during
March, 2005. Soil samples were taken from a depth of 10 to 15 cm and
placed in labeled, plastic bags. In the laboratory, nematodes from soil
samples were collected overnight using a modified Baermann funnel
technique (Luc et al., 1991). Nematodes were killed, fixed by formalin (4%
with 1% glycerol), and mounted on aluminum slides with double cover
slides. Measurements were taken and drawings were done using a
calibrated drawing tube attached to the light microscope. The dimensions
and ratios of the specimens are presented as mean± standard deviation.
Systematic accounts
Helicotylenchus zeidani sp. nov. (Figs. 1 and 2).
Holotype female: L = 0.73 mm, a = 32.4; b = 7.8; c = 29.2; c′ = 1.6;
V = 71.2; tail = 25; body width at anus = 15.5.
Paratype Females: see Table 1.
Females (n = 22): Medium body, circular shape and spiral after
fixation. Lip region hemispherical and continues with body contour,
without annulations (Fig. 1). The labial framework is heavily
scelerotized. Stylet with 23.6 ± 1.4 (21.5 to 26.5) μm long with conus
12.0 ± 0.8 (11.0 to 14.0) μm. Cuticle coarsely annulated 1.4 ±0.3 (1.0 to
2.0). Lateral field with 4 smooth incisures. Basal knobs flattened to
slightly concave. Dorsal oesophageal gland opening 7.2 ± 1.9 (4.0 to
156 G.A.A. Elbadri et al. / Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology 12 (2009) 155–157

Fig. 1. Helicotylenchus zeidani sp. nov. (A) Anterior part; (B) Reproductive system; (C–E) Tail shapes; (F) Total body shape.

12.0) μm from the base of the stylet. Median oesophageal bulb oval to
round with distinct valvular apparatus in the middle. Hemizonid
located above the excretory pore with 1 to 2 annules. Vagina well
developed, vulva at the level of body contour. Ovaries paired,
amphidelphic, outstretched. 4 eggs were found with average length
40.5 ± 9.8 (32.5 to 56.0) μm, average width 16.6 ± 1.3 (15.0 to
18.0) μm. Oocytes arranged in a single row, spermatheca oval to
rounded with sperm. Intestine not extended over rectum. Distinct
pore-like phasmid 1 to 2 annules anterior to the anal level. Tail shape
conical with slight ventral projection. Inner incisors of lateral field fuse
distally. Numbers of annules on tail 10 to 13.
Male: Not found
Locality and habitat
Soil samples were collected from Saccharum officinarum (sugar-
cane) fields at the Guneid sugar cane factory field.
Diagnosis
Our population (Helicotylenchus zeidani sp. nov.) is similar to H.
leiocephalus Sher, 1966 (Sher, 1966). The body of H. zeidani is 0.72 mm,
while that of H. leiocephalus is 0.8 mm and stylet length of H. zeidani is
21.5 to 26.5 μm, while that of H. leiocephalus is 26 to 28 μm. The tail of
H. zeidani is conical with a projection, while that of H. leiocephalus is
 G.A.A. Elbadri et al. / Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology 12 (2009) 155–157 157

Fig. 2. Photomicrographs of Helicotylenchus zeidani sp. nov. A: Anterior region; B: Reproductive system; C: Tail shape; D: Total body shape.

bluntly rounded. The keys published by Firoza (1996) and Thorne and Biology and Environmental Sciences, Gyeonsang National University,
Malik (1968) were followed. Jinju, Gyeongnam, Republic of Korea.
Holotype female (slide No. 1) and 22 paratype females (slide Nos.
2, 3, 4, 5) are kept in the Nematode Laboratory, Department of Applied Etymology

This species named after Professor Abedelazim Babiker Zeidan, the

Table 1 second generation of nematologists in Sudan.
Morphometric data of Helicotylenchus zeidani sp. nov. (all measurements in μm except
length).
Acknowledgments
N = 22 Average Max Min Stdev
Length (mm) 0.72 0.814 0.624 48.0 The senior author would like to thank Korea Science and
mbw 23.2 27.5 20.0 1.9 Engineering Foundation (KOSEF), for granting him a Post Doctoral
a 31.2 36.6 25.6 2.7
b 8.1 10.6 5.4 1.1
Research Fellowship and the Guneid sugarcane company for funding
b′ 6.0 7.6 4.4 0.7 the survey.
c 36.9 53.1 29.2 5.6
c′ 1.3 1.7 0.9 0.2 References
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