title: Identification of Autophagy in the Pine Wood Nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and the Molecular Characterization and Functional Analysis of Two Novel Autophagy-Related Genes, BxATG1 and BxATG8.
abstract: The pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, causes huge economic losses in pine forests, has a complex life cycle, and shows the remarkable ability to survive under unfavorable and changing environmental conditions. This ability may be related to autophagy, which is still poorly understood in B. xylophilus and no autophagy-related genes have been previously characterized. In this study, transmission electron microscopy was used to confirm that autophagy exists in B. xylophilus. The full-length cDNAs of BxATG1 and BxATG8 were first cloned from B. xylophilus, and BxATG1 and BxATG8 were characterized using bioinformatics methods. The expression pattern of the autophagy marker BxATG8 was investigated using in situ hybridization (ISH). BxATG8 was expressed in esophageal gland and hypodermal seam cells. We tested the effects of RNA interference (RNAi) on BxATG1 and BxATG8. The results revealed that BxATG1 and BxATG8 were likely associated with propagation of nematodes on fungal mats. This study confirmed the molecular characterization and functions of BxATG1 and BxATG8 in B. xylophilus and provided fundamental information between autophagy and B. xylophilus.
authors.affiliation: Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China. denglina121@163.com.|Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Prevention and Management of Invasive Species, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China. denglina121@163.com.|Yancheng Institute of Technology, School of Ocean and Biological Engineering, Yancheng 224051, Jiangsu, China. denglina121@163.com.
authors.forename: Li-Na
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China. xqwu@njfu.edu.cn.|Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Prevention and Management of Invasive Species, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China. xqwu@njfu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiao-Qin
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China. jrye@njfu.edu.cn.|Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Prevention and Management of Invasive Species, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China. jrye@njfu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jian-Ren
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China. xq2159@163.com.|Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Prevention and Management of Invasive Species, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China. xq2159@163.com.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xue
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D000071183:Autophagy-Related Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D028223:Pinus / Q000469:parasitology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D034622:RNA Interference; D017187:Tylenchida / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000071183:Autophagy-Related Proteins
keywords: Bursaphelenchus xylophilus; RNA interference; autophagy; autophagy-related genes; in situ hybridization; transmission electron microscopy