The identity of a Swedish Globodera (Nematoda : Heteroderidae) population, following comparisons with known populations of G-artemisiae (Eroshenko and Kazachenko, 1972) Behrens, 1975

Morphological/morphometric identification and sequencing of ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacers (ITS) were used to provide a proper determination of a Globodera population from Sosdala, southernmost Sweden. Data of cysts and juveniles corresponded well morphologically with those of the original description of G. artemisiae (Eroshenko & Kasachenko, 1972) Behrens, 1975, except for total juvenile length. In relation to a German G. artemisiae population and a Chinese one, the Swedish population displayed a genetic divergence of 0.24 and 0.36 %, respectively, along 842 nucleotides of ITS sequences. The combination of similarities in host choice, morphology and DNA sequences justifies the classification of the Sosdala population as belonging to G. artemisiae, the first record in Sweden. However, it is felt that international cooperative studies are urgently required, as data from reports oil G. artemisae from different countries diverge to some extent and there are insufficient comparisons with the other known Globodera species, hosted by Asteraceae.