Molecular Characterization and Functional Analysis of Three Autophagy Genes, BxATG5, BxATG9, and BxATG16, in Bursaphelenchus xylophilus.

ABSTRACT: The pine wood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is the pathogen responsible for pine wilt disease (PWD), a devastating forest disease with a pathogenic mechanism that remains unclear. Autophagy plays a crucial role in physiological and pathological processes in eukaryotes, but its regulatory mechanism and significance in PWN are unknown. Therefore, we cloned and characterized three autophagy genes, BxATG5, BxATG9, and BxATG16, in PWN. BxATG9 and BxATG16 were efficiently silenced through RNA interference, and we found that BxATG16 positively regulated the expression of BxATG5. Silencing BxATG9 and BxATG16 severely inhibited feeding and reproduction in PWN, indicating that autophagy is essential for these processes. We then examined the expression patterns of these three autophagy

SUBMITTER: Liu HB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6696230 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature