Nematode screening

The South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) nematology group offers screening on a fee-for-service basis. This includes:

  • cereal cyst nematode
  • pratylenchus
  • stem nematode.

We also conduct:

Cereal cyst nematode

We provide 2 types of assays for screening resistance to cereal cyst nematode (CCN). These can be conducted for:

  • wheat
  • barley
  • oats
  • triticale lines.

Both tests are not destructive, meaning we can tag and retain resistant seed producing plants.

Large scale ‘POTS’ assay

We recommend this outdoor assay to determine the resistance rating of early generation breeding material.

You can use the high-throughput screening results to indicate lines susceptible or resistant to CCN.

The screening service involves:

  • sowing plants into seedling tubes containing CCN cyst infested soil
  • planting in June, to assess in October or November.

Small-scale controlled environment room (CER) assay

We recommend that advanced lines be screened using the CER test prior to release. This allows you to confirm or identify their CCN resistance rating.

This screening service is a growth room assay, which is more accurate and labour intensive than the POTS. It involves:

  • inoculating seedlings with CCN larvae
  • assessing all CNN 10 weeks later from the root system and the soil surrounding the plant.

Pratylenchus

Our screening services assess resistance to the root lesion nematodes Pratylenchus neglectus and P. thornei.

This test is a glasshouse assay, which is destructive – we cannot keep seeds from individual plants. It involves:

  • inoculating plant seedlings with either P. neglectus or P. thornei
  • assessing nematode numbers from root systems after 8 weeks.

Contact

Please contact us for further information, to submit lines for evaluation, or for advice regarding CCN management experiments:

Dr Katherine Linsell
Phone: (08) 8429 2232
Email: katherine.linsell@sa.gov.au

Page last reviewed: 11 Jul 2022

 


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