High level of genetic diversity among Steinernema monticolum in Korea revealed by single-enzyme amplified fragment length polymorphism.

Abstract Steinernema monticolum was first described from a mountainous forest at sites of Sancheong, Gyeongnam province in Korea. Since S. monticolum is one of the most commonly isolated entomopathogenic nematodes from Korea, it is desirable to investigate the diversity of this species. Single-enzyme amplified fragment length polymorphism (SE-AFLP) analyses were used to differentiate 32 S. monticolum populations. Our results revealed a high level of genetic diversity within S. monticolum at the population level. On the geographic scale, SE-AFLP analysis revealed that there was no correlation between the genetic similarity of populations of this species and their geographical proximity.