Trichodorus		Contents		Rev 02-06-2025
		Classification		Hosts
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Trichodorus Menu		Economic Importance		Damage
		Distribution		Management
Return to Trichodoridae Menu		Feeding
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

      Enoplea
       Triplonchida
        Diphtherophorina
         Diphtherophoidea
          Trichodoridae
           Trichodorinae

              Trichodorus Cobb, 1913

(47 known species as of 1996)

Etymology - from the Greek trichos (a hair) and dory (a spear).

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Morphology and Anatomy:

.	Body configuration usually rounded at both ends. Cuticle tends to swell in water and fixative when nematodes are killed. Curved onchiostyle with dorsal groove. Females: Diovarial.
Males: Caudal alae absent. Single testis. Male of Trichodorus obtusus Photograph by W.T. Crow, University of Florida

Ref. Decraemer, W. 1995

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Distribution:

Worldwide.  A species rich genus, for example, as of 2022, .six trichodorid species have been recorded from Maryland, USA;  ten valid trichodorid species have been recorded from California (Subbotin et al., 2020).

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Economic Importance:

Feeding by species of these nematodes stunts roots, transmits Tobraviruses including Tobacco Rattle Virus, Pea early-browning Virus and Pepper Ringspot Virus.

Tobraviruses are straight tubular particles with two size ranges, 180-210 nm and 45-115 nm. Trichodorus and Paratrichodorus are vectors.

Trichodorus sp. damage to onions in The Netherlands.  Fourth plot from bottom of photograph treated with nematicide.

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Feeding:

Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Trichodorus

At root tip, by repeated thrusting of the oonchiostyle within a polysaccharide feeding tube.  Cell contents move along the groove along the dorsal side of the onchioostyle.

Trichodorus sp. feeding with onchiostyle inserted in root hair cell Photograph by Urs Wyss, University of Kiel, Germany	Polysaccharide "feeding tube" remaining in cell wall after onchiostyle withdrawal. Photograph by Urs Wyss, University of Kiel, Germany

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Hosts:

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Life Cycle:

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Damage:

Root tip damage causes root elongation to cease. Hence "stubby root" symptoms.

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Management:

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References

Decraemer, W. 2011. Virus vector families Part II. Trichdoridae.Academia Press, Gent.123p.

Subbotin, S.A., Cid del Prado Vera, I., Inserra, R.N., Chizhov, V.N. & Decraemer, W. (2020). Molecular characterisation of some stubby root nematodes (Nematoda: Trichodoridae) from the USA and other countries. Nematology 22, 39-57. DOI: 10. 1163/15685411-00003279

Copyright © 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: June 02, 2025.