title: Ascarosides coordinate the dispersal of a plant-parasitic nematode with the metamorphosis of its vector beetle.
abstract: Insect vectors are required for the transmission of many species of parasitic nematodes, but the mechanisms by which the vectors and nematodes coordinate their life cycles are poorly understood. Here, we report that ascarosides, an evolutionarily conserved family of nematode pheromones, are produced not only by a plant-parasitic nematode, but also by its vector beetle. The pinewood nematode and its vector beetle cause pine wilt disease, which threatens forest ecosystems world-wide. Ascarosides secreted by the dispersal third-stage nematode LIII larvae promote beetle pupation by inducing ecdysone production in the beetle and up-regulating ecdysone-dependent gene expression. Once the beetle develops into the adult stage, it secretes ascarosides that attract the dispersal fourth-stage nematode LIV larvae, potentially facilitating their movement into the beetle trachea for transport to the next pine tree. These results demonstrate that ascarosides play a key role in the survival and spread of pine wilt disease.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Lilin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Xinxing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Haerbin 150040, China.
authors.forename: Yanan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Jiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Peijun
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Satya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chinta
authors.affiliation: The Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, The Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China.
authors.forename: Xiangbo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Forestry Academy of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 211153, China.
authors.forename: Yunpeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Haiying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Songnian
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3966-3111
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Butcher
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Jianghua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000502:physiology; D004440:Ecdysone / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D065928:Forests; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000502:physiology; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008675:Metamorphosis, Biological / Q000502:physiology*; D010675:Pheromones / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D028223:Pinus / Q000469:parasitology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D011679:Pupa / Q000502:physiology; D017187:Tylenchida / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010675:Pheromones; D004440:Ecdysone