Identification of Anguina funesta in Lolium multiflorum from the United States

Anguina funesta is an important economic species of Anguina listed as a quarantine pest by several countries. In 2021, a population of Anguina sp. from the seeds of Lolium multiflorum from the United States was intercepted at the port of Shanghai. Only the larvae were isolated from the sample, and accurate identification could not be performed. A combination of morphological and molecular methods for detection was used. The nematode sequence was amplified by 28S universal primers and obtained a 742 bp sequence, which was 100% similar to A. funesta registered in GenBank. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was amplified and sequenced to obtain a 778 bp sequence of 99.86%～100%, similar to A. funesta in GenBank. The phylogenetic tree based on 28S and ITS sequences was constructed. The results revealed that the sample clustered with A. funesta in GenBank. Based on morphological and molecular biology characteristics, the Anguina spp. was identified as A. funesta. The Shanghai port is the first in China to intercept A. funesta.