Transmission biology of bursaphelenchus xylophilus in relation to its insect vector

Abstract

The pine wood nematode (PWN) Bursaphelenchus xylophilus is transmitted by cerambycid beetles in the genus Monochamus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) with M. alternatus being its principal vector in Japan (Mamiya and Enda 1972; Morimoto and Iwasaki 1972), China and Korea (Kishi 1995), M. carolinensis in the USA (Linit 1988) and M. galloprovincialis in Portugal (Sousa et al. 2001). The nematode is believed to have originated in North America (Tarés et al. 1992a) and was introduced into Japan in the early 1900s (Mamiya 1984a). Then, the nematode spread to China, Korea in the 1980s (Kishi 1995) and Portugal in the late 1990s (Mota et al. 1999). © 2008 Springer.