The pinewood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is the pathogenic agent of pine wilt disease and a globally notable pine pest. Despite being a plant pathogen, B. xylophilus has a mycophagous phase during its life cycle. We assessed the capacity for polyphagy of mycetophagous pinewood nematodes, testing which of the common species of fungi in pine trees provide better food and higher population growth rates. B. xylophilus performed particularly well on airborne fungi, namely the endophytes Botrytis cinerea and Cladosporium herbarum, and the pathogens Sirococcus conigenus and Sphaeropsis sapinea. Surprisingly, growth performance was not as good on the blue stain species (Ophiostoma spp. and Leptographium spp.) which are considered natural associates of B. xylophilus in the wild. Most of the fungi nonetheless permitted positive population growth of B. xylophilus, which is polyphagous and capable of feeding on numerous fungal species with diverse ecological niches.

松材线虫Bursaphelenchus xylophilus是松树枯萎病的病原体，是全球著名的松树害虫。尽管是植物病害，松材线虫都有其生命周期中的一个阶段mycophagous。我们评估了食松性松材线虫的多相吞噬能力，​​测试了松树中哪种常见真菌可提供更好的食物和更高的人口增长率。松材线虫表现特别好于空气真菌，即内生菌灰霉病和枝孢霉，和病原体Sirococcus conigenus和枯梢。出人意料的是，被认为是野外B. xylophilus天然伴侣的蓝色染色物种（Ophiostoma spp。和Leptographium spp。）的生长性能不佳。尽管如此，大多数真菌仍允许木糖双歧杆菌的阳性种群增长，该多食性并能够以生态生态位为食的许多真菌物种为食。