Abstract:

Pine wilt disease has a significant impact on the forest ecological health, which can lead to large-scale death of pine forests. Effective prevention of pine wood nematode disease is an important measure to maintain the forest ecosystem. Esteya vermicola is an endoparasitic fungus of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, a pine wood nematode, and has potential as a biological control agent for pine wood nematode disease. In recent years, the research on this little-known fungal species has increased. Based on this, this article systematically introduces the bacteria from the aspects of its discovery, morphology, culture, infection mechanism, molecular level research and biological control applications. E. vermicola, a total of six strains, can produce two types of spores:lunate spores and rod-shaped spores. Moon spores can adhere to the surface of pine wood nematode and parasitize the nematode to kill nematodes. E. vermicola can survive in pine and in the resin secreted by pine, and attracts pine wood nematodes by producing the scent of host pine trees. The culture conditions have a great influence on the growth, sporulation, and spore invasion of E. vermicola. Glycine can be added to the medium to enhance its resistance to the environment. The genome of E. vermicola has been completely sequenced, and a serine protease gene with highly virulent to B. xylophilus has been cloned. Endophytic bacteria are also found in the cells of the strain, which can be detected by molecular methods. The application of biocontrol containing the fungi in different ways, such as trunk injection, canopy spraying and wound inoculation in the greenhouse and in the field, showed that it can reduce the infection of the pine wood nematode to pine wood. At present, the research on this fungus is mainly concentrated in the laboratory. There are also studies on the application of field prevention and control, but it is still relatively less. The research of this fungus in the future could be carried out in several aspects:1) molecular level research to clarify its infestation mechanism; 2) research on the commercial biological agent production of the fungus; 3) research on field prevention and control programs; 4) the research on the relationship between Monochamus alternatus and E. vermicola.

Key words: Esteya vermicola, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, biological control