Metabolomics of pinus spp. in response to pinewood nematode infection

The pinewood nematode (PWN) Bursaphelenchus xylophilus is the causal agent of the pine wilt disease (PWD), a major threat to worldwide conifer forests with severe ecological and economical losses. After the first report of the PWN in Portugal in 1999, associated with Pinus pinaster, the concern about its spread to European forests drastically increased. To better understand the regulatory mechanisms underlying tree resistance, changes in primary and secondary metabolite profiles of susceptible and resistant Pinus spp. have been characterized. These changes are mostly related to energy production for the maintenance of defense-related processes and inducible plant chemical defenses upon PWN infection. The identification of key metabolic pathways involved in plant resistance to PWN infection constitutes a valuable resource for future functional studies and breeding programs for PWD resistance. In this chapter, we discuss the role of mass spectrometry (MS)-based forest tree metabolomics in advancing our understanding of the responses of Pinus spp. to PWN infection and tree resistance. In addition, we highlight emergent strategies currently in use for disease management, such as the use of phytohormones, chitosan, and agronanochemicals, as integrated approaches for the effective control of the PWD.