AUTHOR=Cardoso Joana M. S. , Anjo Sandra I. , Manadas Bruno , Silva Hugo , Abrantes Isabel , Nakamura Katsunori , Fonseca Luís 

TITLE=Virulence Biomarkers of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus: A Proteomic Approach

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.822289

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2021.822289

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>The pinewood nematode (PWN), <italic>Bursaphelenchus xylophilus</italic>, one of the most serious forest pests worldwide, is considered the causal agent of the pine wilt disease (PWD). The main host species belong to the genus <italic>Pinus</italic>, and a variation in the susceptibility of several pine species to PWN infection is well-known. It is also recognized that there is variation in the virulence among <italic>B. xylophilus</italic> isolates. In the present study, we applied a quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics approach to perform a deep characterization of proteomic changes across two <italic>B. xylophilus</italic> isolates with different virulence from different hosts and geographical origins. A total of 1,456 proteins were quantified and compared in the two isolates secretomes, and a total of 2,741 proteins were quantified and compared in the nematode proteomes in pine tree extract and fungus stimuli conditions. From the proteomic analyses, a group of proteins was selected and identified as potential virulence biomarkers and shed light on putative most pathogenic proteins of this plant-parasitic nematode. Proteomic data are available <italic>via</italic> ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD029377.</p>