Abstract
BackgroundA nematophagous fungus, Esteya vermicola, is recorded as the first endoparasitic fungus of pine wood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, in last century. E. vermicola exhibited high infectivity toward PWN in the laboratory conditions and conidia spraying of this fungus on Japanese red pine, Pinus densiflora, seedlings in the field protected the pine trees from pine wilt disease to some extent, indicating that it is a potential bio-control agent against PWN. Previous research had demonstrated that the living fungal mycelia of E. vermicola continuously produced certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which were responsible for the PWN attraction. However, identity of these VOCs remains unknown.Methodology/Principal FindingsIn this study, we report the identification of α-pinene, β-pinene, and camphor produced by living mycelia of E. vermicola, the same volatile compounds emitted from PWN host pine tree, as the major VOCs for PWN attraction using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In addition, we also confirmed the host deception behavior of E. vermicola to PWN by using synthetic VOCs in a straightforward laboratory bioassay.Conclusions/SignificanceThis research result has demonstrated that the endoparasitic nematophagous fungus, E. vermicola, mimics the scent of PWN host pine tree to entice PWN for the nutrient. The identification of the attractive VOCs emitted from the fungus E. vermicola is of significance in better understanding parasitic mechanism of the fungus and the co-evolution in the two organisms and will aid management of the pine wilt disease.
Highlights
Esteya vermicola was recorded as the first endoparasitic fungus of the pine wood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus [1], and exhibited high infectivity in vitro [2,3]
Bioassay of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from E. vermicola Mycelium The VOCs collected from E. vermicola and potato sucrose agar (PSA) medium were bioassayed by silicone tube method (STM)
VOCs from PSA medium did not show attractive activity to attract nematodes (p = 0.126) (Table 1). This indicates that active components to attract PWNs are only associated with the VOCs collected from mycelium of E. vermicola
Summary
Esteya vermicola was recorded as the first endoparasitic fungus of the pine wood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus [1], and exhibited high infectivity in vitro [2,3]. E. vermicola exhibited high infectivity toward PWN in the laboratory conditions and conidia spraying of this fungus on Japanese red pine, Pinus densiflora, seedlings in the field protected the pine trees from pine wilt disease to some extent, indicating that it is a potential bio-control agent against PWN. Previous research had demonstrated that the living fungal mycelia of E. vermicola continuously produced certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which were responsible for the PWN attraction.
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