| Bursaphelenchus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Bursaphelenchus xylophilus | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Nematoda |
| Class: | Secernentea |
| Order: | Aphelenchida |
| Family: | Parasitaphelenchidae |
| Genus: | Bursaphelenchus Fuchs, 1937 |
| Species | |
|
About 70-90, see text | |
Bursaphelenchus is a genus of nematodes (roundworms) in the order Aphelenchida. Most are obligate mycophages, but some feed on wood, with two species, the red ring nematode (B. cocophilus) and the pine wood nematode (B. xylophilus), economically significant as pests of coconut palms and of pine trees, respectively. Given that Bursaphelenchus species are usually hard to distinguish from one another except by trained nematologists with access to microscopes or DNA sequence analysis, the entire genus is put under quarantine in some countries. Where this is not the case however, these nematodes are becoming established as model organisms for nematode developmental biology, ecology and genetics.[1]
As of 2009, there are about 70[2] to 90[3] species in the genus. New taxa are described frequently.
- ^ Kanzaki, N.; et al. (2008). "First report of parthenogenesis in the genus Bursaphelenchus Fuchs, 1937: A description of Bursaphelenchus okinawaensis sp. nov. isolated from Monochamus maruokai (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)". Zool. Sci. 25 (8): 861–73. doi:10.2108/zsj.25.861. PMID 18795821.
- ^ Kikuchi, T.; et al. (2009). "Identification of putative expansin-like genes from the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, and evolution of the expansin gene family within the Nematoda" (PDF). Nematology. 11 (3): 355–64. doi:10.1163/156854109x446953.
- ^ Han, H.; et al. (2009). "First report of Bursaphelenchus pinophilus on Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis)". Plant Disease. 93 (12): 1354. doi:10.1094/pdis-93-12-1354c. PMID 30759530.