Human influence on the dispersal and genetic structure of French Globodera tabacum populations

The dispersal abilities and the population genetic structure of nematodes living in soils are poorly known. In the present study, we have pursued these issues in the tobacco cyst nematode, Globodera tabacum, which is responsible of significant yield reductions. Nine microsatellites markers were used to explore the dispersal and genetic structure of 18 French G. tabacum populations. All the populations sampled belong to the “tabacum” subspecies and low level of gene flow was observed among G. tabacum populations in France. Bayesian genetic assignments revealed two distinct genetic groups that matched with the geographic limits of two agricultural cooperative societies. An important part of the genetic variability was observed between these agricultural cooperative societies and also within populations. Those results highlight the impact of the human organization of agricultural practices on the genetic structure of G. tabacum populations and complement previous results obtained on other cyst nematodes, showing the major contribution of human activities and soil transports during harvest in the passive dispersion of these organisms.