Life-history strategies and virulence in the pinewood nematode

We assessed variation and covariation in life history traits of the forest pathogen Bursaphelenchus xylophilus from a native population in North America. We tested for relationships between life history traits and virulence. There was more than two-fold variation among isolates from the same forest in their population growth rates when feeding on commonly co-occurring fungus. Slow-growing isolates were more sensitive to monoterpenes and fast-growing isolates displayed higher virulence, but only at high doses and in physiologically compromised hosts. Capacity to feed on pine tissues and tolerate some exposure to monoterpenes seems to be intrinsic to native populations of B. xylophilus.