A Bursaphelenchus xylophilus effector, Bx-FAR-1, suppresses plant defense and affects nematode infection of pine trees

2020 ◽  
Vol 157 (3) ◽  
pp. 637-650
Author(s):  
Yu Li ◽  
Long-Jiao HU ◽  
Xiao-Qin Wu ◽  
Jian-Ren Ye
2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 272-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albina R. Franco ◽  
Carla Santos ◽  
Mariana Roriz ◽  
Rui Rodrigues ◽  
Marta R. M. Lima ◽  
...  

Pine wilt disease, caused by the pinewood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Steiner and Buhrer) Nickle, is originating severe infections in pine trees. The disease is detected when external symptoms appear (e.g. needle chlorosis), but trees could remain asymptomatic for long periods and serve as a long-term host. The primary goal of this study was to assess the effect of inoculation with an avirulent isolate of B. xylophilus (C14-5) on different Pinus spp. seedlings (P. sylvestris, P. nigra, P. pinea and P. pinaster). At the same time, seedlings were also inoculated with a virulent strain, HF, in order to compare the phenotypic and genomic results of the two types of inoculations. The effect of inoculation was determined in terms of expression of various Pinus genes potentially involved in the response to the disease.The results suggest that P. pinea and P. nigra are more resistant to infection by the nematode than P. sylvestris and P. pinaster. The phenotypic and genetic differences were more marked among P. pinea and P. pinaster.


2019 ◽  
Vol 109 (11) ◽  
pp. 1949-1956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanli Meng ◽  
Yongxia Li ◽  
Xuan Wang ◽  
Yuqian Feng ◽  
Zhenkai Liu ◽  
...  

The pine wood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus is a destructive species affecting pine trees worldwide; however, the underlying mechanism leading to pathogenesis remains unclear. In this study, a B. xylophilus gene encoding thaumatin-like protein-1 (Bx-tlp-1) was silenced by RNA interference to clarify the relationship between the Bx-tlp-1 gene and pathogenicity. The in vitro knockdown of Bx-tlp-1 with double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) decreased B. xylophilus reproduction and pathogenicity. Treatments with dsRNA targeting Bx-tlp-1 decreased expression by 90%, with the silencing effect maintained even in the F3 offspring. Pine trees inoculated with B. xylophilus treated with Bx-tlp-1 dsRNA decreased the symptom of wilting, and the disease severity index was 56.7 at 30 days after inoculation. Additionally, analyses of the cavitation of intact pine stem samples by X-ray microtomography revealed that the xylem cavitation area of pine trees inoculated with B. xylophilus treated with Bx-tlp-1 dsRNA was 0.46 mm2 at 30 days after inoculation. Results from this study indicated that the silencing of Bx-tlp-1 has effects on B. xylophilus fitness. The data presented here provide the foundation for future analyses of Bx-tlp-1 functions related to B. xylophilus pathogenicity.


Nematology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 869-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuyoshi Futai ◽  
Natsumi Kanzaki ◽  
Yuko Takeuchi

AbstractPine wilt disease causes ecological and economic damage in Japanese pine forests in spite of intensive effort to protect them from the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. Pine trees infected with B. xylophilus emit a characteristic bouquet of volatile compounds bioactive to the vector beetle of the nematode, Monochamus alternatus, and potentially affecting symptom development inside the trees. To investigate the qualitative and quantitative properties of volatile compounds in the field, we profiled the volatile emissions in two Japanese black pine stands, one naturally suffering from pine wilt disease and the other artificially inoculated with B. xylophilus. In both pine stands, the emission of some terpenoids from the infected trees such as (−)-α-pinene, began to increase in summer, overlapping the oviposition season of the vector beetle, but peaked in the summer and autumn. These data suggest that the beetles may not necessarily depend on the tremendous quantity of volatiles alone when they search for suitable trees on which to oviposit.


Nematology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 843-849 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shota Jikumaru ◽  
Katsumi Togashi

Abstract Bursaphelenchus mucronatus is closely related to Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the causative agent of pine wilt disease. Both nematodes are transmitted between host pine trees as the fourth-stage dispersal juveniles (JIV) by insect vectors. After the invasion of Japan by B. xylophilus, B. mucronatus, native to Japan, appears to have been replaced in the pine forests during the spread of the disease. To help understand this species replacement, the number of JIV carried by an insect vector (the initial nematode load) was compared between the two nematode species by using the beetle, Monochamus alternatus, in the laboratory. The initial load of B. mucronatus was significantly smaller than that of B. xylophilus although the number of third-stage dispersal juveniles (JIII) concentrated at the pupal chambers did not differ. Statistical analysis showed that the proportion of JIII moulting to JIV was the most important among three components explaining the difference in the initial load of B. mucronatus while the number of JIII concentrated at the pupal chamber was the most important for B. xylophilus. The phoretic affinity between the nematode and its vector is discussed in relation to its role in the species replacement.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongxia Li ◽  
Fanli Meng ◽  
Xun Deng ◽  
Xuan Wang ◽  
Yuqian Feng ◽  
...  

Bursaphelenchus xylophilus is fatal to the pine trees around the world. The production of the pine tree secondary metabolite gradually increases in response to a B. xylophilus infestation, via a stress reaction mechanism(s). α-pinene is needed to combat the early stages of B. xylophilus infection and colonization, and to counter its pathogenesis. Therefore, research is needed to characterize the underlying molecular response(s) of B. xylophilus to resist α-pinene. We examined the effects of different concentrations of α-pinene on the mortality and reproduction rate of B. xylophilus in vitro. The molecular response by which B. xylophilus resists α-pinene was examined via comparative transcriptomics of the nematode. Notably, B. xylophilus genes involved in detoxification, transport, and receptor activities were differentially expressed in response to two different concentrations of α-pinene compared with control. Our results contribute to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which B. xylophilus responds to monoterpenes in general, and the pathogenesis of B. xylophilus.


Parasitology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Yongxia Li ◽  
Long Pan ◽  
Xuan Wang ◽  
Yuqian Feng ◽  
...  

AbstractPinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, a pine parasitic nematode, poses a serious threat to its host pine forests globally. When dispersal-stage larvae 4 (dauer, DL4) of B. xylophilus enters the new pine, it moults into propagative adult (dauer recovery) and reproduces quickly to kill the host pine. Here, we found pine chemical volatiles, rather than the common dauer recovery factors of nematodes (e.g. suitable temperatures, nutrient availability or density), promote B. xylophilus dauer recovery. The results showed that volatilization of chemicals in host pines could attract DL4 and promote DL4 recovery. To identify which chemicals promote this process, we determined the stimulated activity of the main volatiles of pines including six monoterpenes and two sesquiterpenes. Results showed that all the six monoterpenes promoted dauer recovery, especially β-pinene and β-myrcene, but the two sesquiterpenes have no effect on the transformation. Furthermore, β-pinene performed gradient effects on dauer recovery. We hypothesized that when DL4 infect pine trees, the pine volatiles released from the feeding wounds are used as chemical signals for DL4 transformation to adult to reproduce and rapidly kill the pines. Our study identified the B. xylophilus dauer recovery chemical signal and may contribute to preventing pine wilt disease.


Nematology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 459-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Wang ◽  
Kazuo Suzuki ◽  
Daisuke Sakaue ◽  
Toshihiro Yamada

AbstractTwo virulent isolates and two avirulent isolates of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and one isolate of B. mucronatus were used to investigate the relationships between life history parameters, rate of population increase and virulence. The results showed that on fungal cultures of Botrytis cinerea, virulent B. xylophilus completed one generation much faster than did avirulent B. xylophilus and B. mucronatus. There was a tendency that virulent B. xylophilus isolates laid more eggs during the egg laying period than did avirulent populations. Shorter generation time and higher fecundity resulted in a higher rate of population increase. Generation time and fecundity were primary factors determining rate of population increase. Difference in rate of population increase is closely related to variation of virulence: virulent B. xylophilus increased population size at the fastest rate, avirulent B. xylophilus was slower, and B. mucronatus was slowest. It is assumed that similar variations in life history parameters and rate of population increase are also expressed in pine trees and help to explain variation of virulence in the field.


Nematology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 721-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noritoshi Maehara ◽  
Masahiko Tokoro

Abstract Several chemical compounds, e.g., linoleic and oleic acids, have been reported to be attractive to the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, in previous studies. To examine the effects of fatty acids on the number of nematodes carried by Monochamus alternatus and Acanthocinus orientalis, unsaturated fatty acids (linoleic, oleic and hexadecenoic acids) and saturated fatty acids (palmitic and stearic acids) around the pupal chambers of individual beetles of the two species were analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The number of nematodes carried by individual M. alternatus was large, averaging 1628 (range 2 to 27 200), whilst A. orientalis carried no nematodes. There was no difference in the concentration of linoleic acid around the pupal chambers of M. alternatus and A. orientalis, and the concentration of oleic acid around Monochamus chambers was less than that around Acanthocinus chambers. There were no clear significant relationships between the concentration of linoleic or oleic acids around Monochamus pupal chambers and the numbers of nematodes carried by individual Monochamus beetles emerging from the chambers. It was concluded that the concentration of unsaturated fatty acids around pupal chambers in wilt-killed pine trees could not explain the differences in the numbers of nematodes carried by M. alternatus and by A. orientalis, and the differences in the numbers of nematodes carried by individual Monochamus beetles.


Nematology ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 455-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noritoshi Maehara ◽  
Kazuyoshi Futai

AbstractAlthough fourth-stage dispersal juveniles (JIV) of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the pinewood nematode (PWN), developed in the presence of both Monochamus alternatus and Psacothea hilaris, the numbers and the percentage of JIV were far higher in the presence of the former than of the latter. JIV first appeared 7 days after pupation of M. alternatus and the number increased from the day of beetle eclosion to the third day thereafter, then remained stable. We conclude that the presence of specific vectors affects both the life history of the PWN and the numbers of nematodes carried by vectors emerging from killed pine trees.


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