A DNA probe which distinguishes Globodera pallida Pa2/3 from G. rostochiensis Ro1 and other cyst-forming nematodes

Abstract
A small DNA fragment (approx. 350 base pairs) from the genome of the potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida Pa2/3 was cloned in a bacterial plasmid. When used as a probe in dot-blot DNA hybridisations against a range of nematodes, the cloned DNA bound to G. pallida Pa2/3 but not to Globodera rostochiensis Rol. The cereal cyst nematode Heterodera avenae, the clover cyst nematode Heterodera trifolii, the root knot nematodes Meloidogyne hapla and Meloidogyne incognita, and the beet cyst nematode Heterodera schactii did not cross-hybridise. This probe can detect as few as six larvae of G. pallida.