B. xylophilus and its vector beetles are listed as worldwide quarantine pests [2, 3]. Under laboratory conditions, B. xylophilus has been reported to be sufficient for PWD development [4]. However, because of their ubiquitous existence in the PWD environments, some bacteria have also been thought to be involved in the disease development. For example, some B. xylophilus-associated bacteria are beneficial to B. xylophilus growth and reproduction [5], and others have been suggested or demonstrated to selleck chemical produce interesting bacterial traits that may contribute to B. xylophilus pathogenic potential and, ultimately, to PWD development [6–9]. Plant oxidative burst comprises in the production BAY 80-6946 in vitro of reactive oxygen species (ROS)

as a result of the interaction between plant cell receptors and pathogen-elicitors immediately after pathogen invasion [10–12]. Being relatively stable and permeable to the cell membrane, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is the most predominant ROS in plant oxidative burst [13, 14]. In addition, H2O2 leads to the formation of the radical OH, which is extremely reactive and for which there is no scavenging system [15]. H2O2 GF120918 was found to be transversal in different plant-pathogen systems, being a fundamental diffusible signal in plant resistance to pathogens (i.e. involved in cell-wall reinforcement or induction of defence-related genes in healthy adjacent tissues)

[16]. Plant pathogens have evolved different evasion features to protect themselves against plant oxidative stress (OS) [17]. Bacterial defences include production of extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) coating and periplasmic catalases, and cytoplasmic catalase and superoxide dismutases (SOD) to counteract ROS before and after entering bacterial cells [18, 19]. Other factors are related to the production of polyesters, poly-(3-hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA) also known as protective molecules

[18], or phytotoxins (i.e. coronatine in Pseudomonas Casein kinase 1 syringae) that are able to manipulate or down regulate plant-defences for bacteria successful establishment [20]. In plant- or animal-parasitic nematodes, antioxidant enzymes have been found to be the important weapons against oxidative stress of their plant- or animal-hosts [21]. Molinari [22] detected different antioxidant enzymes in Meloidogyne incognita, M. hapla, Globodera rostochiensis, G. pallida, Heterodera schachtii, H. carotae, and Xiphinema index and their relationship with life stages. Robertson et al. [23] and Jones et al. [24] have studied, the role of host ROS breakdown by peroxiredoxins (PXN) and glutathione peroxidases (GXP) in G. rostochiensis, respectively. Bellafiore et al. [25] reported the presence of several detoxifying enzymes, in particular glutathione S-transferases (GST), in the secretome of M. incognita as means of controlling the global oxidative status and potential nematode virulence. Pinus thunbergii[26] and P.