PROTEIN COMPARISON OF SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE POPULATIONS USING SDS-PAGE

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN, Heterodera glycines) represents one of the most serious threats to predictable soybean yield in the United States. Originally discovered in North Carolina during 1954, intraspecific SCN population variability was soon noted. To reduce SCN crop damage, multiple agriculture techniques have been exploited. Of these, resistant varieties and rotation to non host crops have been the most effective in reducing the SCN egg population density. However, no single strategy is effective due to variation in SCN populations, lack of complete resistance, and economics of non host crop production. Although it is well accepted that dissimilarities in virulence phenotypes are not associated with any morphological distinctions, knowledge of biochemical characterization of SCN populations is lacking. Therefore, the protein profiles of eggs from four SCN populations were differentiated using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Out of 25 protein bands ranging in molecular weight from 40 to 200 kDa, no differences were observed among any of the populations. These results suggest that eggs from SCN populations differing in virulence phenotypes have similar proteins at the resolution of SDS-PAGE.