concentration and size of induced lesions were determined following inoculation of stems of slash pine (Pinus elliottii Englm. var. elliottii) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) with Ophiostoma minus (Hedgc.) H.P. Sydow, O. ips (Rumb.) Nannf or sterile water. In a second experiment, the rate of ethylene production and monoterpene concentration were determined following inoculation of slash pine...

Insect-microbe interaction is a key area of research in multiplayer symbiosis, yet little is known about the role of microbe-microbe interactions in insect-microbe symbioses. The red turpentine beetle (RTB) has destroyed millions of healthy pines in China and forms context-dependent relationships with associated fungi. The adult-associated fungus Leptographium procerum have played key roles in ...

Fungal dimorphism is a complex trait and our understanding of the ability of fungi to display different growth morphologies is limited to a small number of model species. Here we study a highly aggressive dimorphic fungus, the ascomycete Ophiostoma novo-ulmi, which is a model in plant pathology and the causal agent of Dutch elm disease. The two growth phases that this fungus displays, i.e., a y...

An undescribed species of Raffaelea earlier was shown to be the cause of a vascular wilt disease known as laurel wilt, a severe disease on redbay (Persea borbonia) and other members of the Lauraceae in the Atlantic coastal plains of the southeastern USA. The pathogen is likely native to Asia and probably was introduced to the USA in the mycangia of the exotic redbay ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus g...

The aim of this study was to develop DNA probes that could identify the major fungal species associated with mountain pine beetles (MPB). The beetles are closely associated with fungal species that include ophiostomatoid fungi that can be difficult to differentiate morphologically. The most frequently isolated associates are the pine pathogens Grosmannia clavigera and Leptographium longiclavatu...

Most 'ambrosia' fungi are members of a heterogeneous group of ophiostomatoids that includes the anamorph genera Ambrosiella, Raffaelea and Dryadomyces. The taxonomy of these fungi based on morphological features has been complicated by these features being poorly descriptive and having evolved convergently. In this work we report maximum parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of a multige...

Host location by parasitoids and dipteran predators of bark beetles is poorly understood. Unlike coleopteran predators that locate prey by orienting to prey pheromones, wasps and flies often attack life stages not present until after pheromone production ceases. Bark beetles have important microbial symbionts, which could provide sources of cues. We tested host trees, trees colonized by beetles...

Hydrophobins are components of microbial cell walls that contribute tocell surface hydrophobicity. The hydrophobic nature of the surfaces of many microbes, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic, is important to such processes as adhesion of pathogens to host structures and dispersa1 of aerial spores (Beever and Dempsey, 1978; Doyle and Rosenberg, 1990; Stringer et al., 1991). A class of peptide hydro...