doiSerbia

Fungi associated with free-living soil nematodes in Turkey

Karabörklü Salih (Duzce University, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Department Field Crops, Duzce, Turkey)
Ayvaz Abdurrahman (Erciyes University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Kayseri, Turkey)
Yilmaz Semih (Erciyes University, Seyrani Agricultural Faculty, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Kayseri, Turkey)
Azizoglu Ugur (Erciyes University, Tomarza Mustafa Akıncıoğlu Vocational College, Department of Crop and Animal Production, Kayseri, Turkey)

Free-living soil nematodes have successfully adapted world-wide to nearly all soil types from the highest to the lowest of elevations. In the current study, nematodes were isolated from soil samples and fungi associated with these free-living soil nematodes were determined. Large subunit (LSU) rDNAs of nematode-associated fungi were amplified and sequenced to construct phylogenetic trees. Nematode-associated fungi were observed in six nematode strains belonging to Acrobeloides, Steinernema and Cephalobus genera in different habitats. Malassezia and Cladosporium fungal strains indicated an association with Acrobeloides and Cephalobus nematodes, while Alternaria strains demonstrated an association with the Steinernema strain. Interactions between fungi and free-living nematodes in soil are discussed. We suggest that nematodes act as vectors for fungi.

Keywords: nematode-fungi association, Malassezia, Cladosporium, Alternaria, phylogeny