Intracellular and extracellular proteome characterization of virulent and avirulent Bursaphelenchus xylophilus isolates

The pinewood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilu (Bx) s, 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 Pinus and a variation in the susceptibility of several pine species to PWN infection is well-known. Additionally, it is also recognized that there is variation in the virulence among different B. xylophilus isolates. In the present study, we applied a quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics approach to perform a deep characterization of proteomic changes across two B. xylophilus isolates from different hosts and geographical origins and with different virulence. A total of 1456 proteins were quantified and compared between the two isolates secretomes and a total of 2741 proteins were quantified and compared between the nematode proteomes in two different conditions, pine tree extract and fungus stimuli.