Editorial: Global occurrence of pine wilt disease: Biological interactions and integrated management.

Abstract

Plant pathogens cause severe losses in a wide range of crops and forestry plant species worldwide, being a major obstacle toward achieving sustainable agriculture and forestry. In forests, pathogens can affect sustainable management by affecting economic trade and serious ecological losses can occur, such as the ability to store carbon, reduce flood risk or purify water (Boyd et al., 2013). Ranking in the top ten of the most damaging plant-parasitic nematodes worldwide, the migratory endoparasitic nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (pinewood nematode, PWN) is the causal agent of Pine wilt disease (PWD) being responsible for the tremendous decline of conifers species in Eurasian conifer forests (Mota and Vieira, 2008; Futai, 2013; Jones et al., 2013). This complex disease results from a tripartite species interaction (plant-nematode-insect), where each participant involved may be a target for research and understanding at a molecular, evolutionary, chemical, and biological levels.