REVIEW Research advance on Esteya vermicola, a high potential biocontrol agent of pine wilt disease Wen Hui Chu 1 & Qing Dou 1 & Hong Long Chu 1 & Hai Hua Wang 1 & Chang Keun Sung 2 & Chun Yan Wang 1 Received: 8 June 2015 /Revised: 24 October 2015 /Accepted: 26 October 2015 /Published online: 13 November 2015 # German Mycological Society and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015 Abstract The potential of Esteya vermicola (Ophiostomataceae), an endoparasitic fungus of pinewood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Nematoda: Aphelenchoidoidea), as a biocontrol agent of pine wilt disease has been proved. Recently, increasing attention has been paid to this fungus with the deterioration and scatter of pine wilt disease around the world. Many novel researches in this field have been reported in recent years. This review systematically summarizes the latest studies of E. vermicola in respect to its ecology and distribution, characteristics, infectivity against nematodes, nutrition and sporulation, environmental stress re- sistance, as well as control effect against pine wilt disease, etc. Moreover, its application potential to the biocontrol of pine wilt disease and possible research directions in the future are briefly discussed. This is the first review on this little-known hyphomycete, hoping to lead to its efficient use for the bio- control of disastrous pine wilt disease. Keywords Biocontrol agent . Esteya vermicola . Infectivity . Pine wilt disease Introduction Pinewood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus Nickle (Steiner & Buhrer, 1934), is the causal agent of pine wilt disease (PWD), which constitutes one of the most serious worldwide conifer diseases. PWD mainly affects species of Pinus spp. in Japan, China and Korea, and more recently has spread to Mexico, Portugal and Spain (Vicente et al. 2012). PWNs are transmitted from wilt-killed to healthy pines by the sawyer beetles (Monochamus spp.) during feeding or ovipo- sition (Zhao et al. 2008). Protection of pine trees from PWNs is now recognized as one of the most urgent forestry issues, since the outbreak of PWD has caused irreparable damage with great economic and environmental losses. Many methods have been tried, but environmental-friendly strate- gies are nowadays a primary concern (Vicente et al. 2012). As the first recorded endoparasitic fungus of PWNs, Esteya vermicola Liou, Shih & Tzean exhibits high infectivity against PWNs. It has been patented in the United States and South Korea based on its potential as a promising biocontrol agent against PWD (Fang et al. 2010; Liou et al. 1999; Tzean et al. 2001). This fungus has aroused more and more attention concerning the deterioration and scatter of PWD around the world. This review gathered the most recent up-to-date infor- mation about E. vermicola and briefly discussed its applica- tion potential on PWD biocontrol in the future, as well as the possible research directions. It is the first review on E. vermicola and will help us to gain insight into this little- known hyphomycete and the biocontrol of disastrous PWD. Distribution and ecology Esteya vermicola was firstly reported from Taiwan, as a new species within a new genus (Liou et al. 1999). There are only Section Editor: Roland Kirschner * Chun Yan Wang chunyan@nwsuaf.edu.cn 1 College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China 2 Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Taejon 305-764, South Korea Mycol Progress (2015) 14: 115 DOI 10.1007/s11557-015-1137-9