Heterodera latipons		Contents		Rev 02/10/2025
Mediterranean Cereal Cyst Nematode		Classification		Hosts
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Heterodera Menu		Economic Importance		Damage
		Distribution		Management
Return to Heteroderidae Menu		Feeding		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

Tylenchida
       Tylenchina
        Tylenchoidea
         Heteroderidae
          Heteroderinae

           Heterodera latipons Franklin, 1969

A member of the Avenae group of Heterodera spp.

Synonyms:
    Bidera latipons (Franklin, 1969) Krall & Krall, 1978

   Ephippiodera latipons (Franklin, 1969) Shagalina & Krall, 1981

   Review general characteristics of the genus Heterodera.

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Morphology and Anatomy:

General Characteristics of the Avenae Group of Heterodera

Cysts lemon-shaped
Bifenestrate
Bullae well-developed
Underbridge absent or present
Vulval slit short
J2 incisures 4
Monocotyledonous hosts

(Handoo and Subbotin, 2018; Subbotin et al., 2018)

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Distribution:

Described and reported from roots of wheat and barley in Israel, Italy, Cyprus, Turkey and other Mediterranean regions.

Heterodera latipons was described by Franklin (1969) based on material from the roots of wheat, barley, oats, and rye from Israel, Libya, Bulgaria Italy, Cyprus, Turkey and other Mediterranean regions.

Heterodera latipons belongs to the Avenae group of Heterodera species and closely resembles H. hordecalis and H. turcomanica.

It is often found in mixed populations with H. avenae in cereal cropping systems.

Verifications of mixed populations and/or detection of rare species require advanced identification techniques, including morphological biometrics and biochemical or molecular methodologies (Handoo and Subbotin 2018; Martin, 2025)).

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Economic Importance:

Heterodera latipons, is considered to cause substantial yield losses in wheat throughout the world (Dababat et al., 2021).

Pathotypes with different virulence occur in H. latipons. The pathotypes are identified based on the reproductive ability of the cyst nematodes on wheat, barley and oat cultivars. The differentiation scheme called the "International Test Assortment�" derived from 7-11 virulent phenotypes which resulted from extensive selection pressure (Cook and Rivoal, 1998; Dababat et al., 2021).

For example, barley cultivars Ortolan, Morocco, KVL191, Bajo Aragon 1-1, Herta, Martin 403-2, and oat cultivars Sun II and Pusa Hybrid Bsi were resistant or moderately resistant populations of H. latipons from Turkey while barley cultivars Emir, Dalmatische and wheat cultivar Capa were susceptible. Based on these virulence results, Turkish populations were in the Ha1 group. Further analysis of virulence  on barley, oats and wheat classified them as either Ha41 or Ha51 (Dababat et al., 2021).

As of 2025, H. latipons has not been detected in California. Since it occurs in in diverse climates around the world and it is likely to become established wherever suitable hosts can grow. Wheat is the predominant small grain crop in California, grown on over 500,000 acres. Further, small grains serve as important rotational crops (Chitambar et al., 2018).

Consequently, Heterodera latipons is considered an A-rated pest  by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (Martin, 2025)

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Feeding:

Cyst nematodes are biotrophic sedentary root endoparasites that establish a complex syncytial feeding site their hosts. The body of the mature female becomes  a hardened cyst which protects hundreds of eggs. Cysts with viable eggs can persist in dry soil for years, where they remain relatively resistant to chemical and biological stresses.
      

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Hosts:

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Life Cycle:

As with other cyst nematode species, yhe body of the mature female becomes a hardened cyst which protects hundreds of eggs. Cysts with viable eggs can persist in dry soil for years, where they remain relatively resistant to chemical and biological stresses.
      

Ecophysiological Parameters:

Heterodera latipons, studied on barley (cv Athenais) in Cyprus, completed only one generation per year  Juveliles penetrated roots at soil temperatures of 14.5C, 13 days after sowing.  young cysts were seen on roots54 days after sowing and embryonated egges were present in the cysts 98 days after sowing. (Philis, 1999).

Life history progression of Heterodera latipons on barley in Cyprus (from Philis, 1999)

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Damage:

Cereal cyst nematodes are important pests limiting production of small-grain cereals worlwide. Extensive nematode feeding reduces root mass, removes plant nutrients, and can result in greatly reduced crop yields.

Cysts are easily moved with soil. There are many closely related cereal cyst nematode species that are found in most regions of the world where small grains are grown.

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Management:

Host Plant Resistance, Non-hosts and Crop Rotation alternatives: