Pratylenchus spp. are an economically important group of nematodes that are often morphologically similar. Comparisons of total protein patterns analyzed by SDS-PAGE with silver staining resulted in at least one to three distinct protein bands for differentiating the following species: P vulnus (27.5 kDa), P. scribneri (38.4 kDa), P. goodeyi (63.1 and 31.6 kDa), P. coffeae (61.6 kDa), P. thornei (100 kDa and absence of a 77 kDa band present in all populations), Radopholus similis (105 kDa), and a protein of 24.5 kDa shared by R. similis and P. goodeyi, but missing in the other populations. Results show that this biochemical method can be useful for diagnosis at the interspecific level, at least for Pratylenchus species of major economic importance. The main limitation is to provide an abundant and pure source of the nematode species.
