Genomic insights into the origin of parasitism in the emerging plant pathogen Bursaphelenchus xylophilus.

ABSTRACT: Bursaphelenchus xylophilus is the nematode responsible for a devastating epidemic of pine wilt disease in Asia and Europe, and represents a recent, independent origin of plant parasitism in nematodes, ecologically and taxonomically distinct from other nematodes for which genomic data is available. As well as being an important pathogen, the B. xylophilus genome thus provides a unique opportunity to study the evolution and mechanism of plant parasitism. Here, we present a high-quality draft genome sequence from an inbred line of B. xylophilus, and use this to investigate the biological basis of its complex ecology which combines fungal feeding, plant parasitic and insect-associated stages. We focus particularly on putative parasitism genes as well as those linked to other key biological pro

SUBMITTER: Kikuchi T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3164644 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature