I report here a series of initial investigations into effects of melanins on the interactions of the three primary species of fungi associated with the southern pine beetle (SPB), and into possible means for mitigating the damaging activities of the melanistic fungus, Ophiostoma minus. Growth of the SPB mutualistic fungus Entomocorticium sp. A on high melanin medium was less than half of the gr...

Eight polymorphic markers were developed from South African isolates of Ophiostoma quercus. The genome was screened for repeat regions using the fast isolation by amplified fragment length polymorphism of sequences containing repeats protocol and 20 de novo primer pairs flanking putative microsatellite regions were designed. Eight loci were optimized and their polymorphisms evaluated by sequenc...

Fungal secondary compounds and total extracts are known to affect growth of bacteria, fungi, and plants. This study tested the effects of purified compounds and total extracts from three lichens on the growth of two plant pathogens, Ophiostoma novo-ulmi ssp. americana and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Usnic acid showed no reduction in relative growth rates (RGR), whereas vulpinic acid reduced RGR f...

Dutch elm disease is caused by the fungal pathogen Ophiostoma novo-ulmi which is transmitted by the native elm bark beetle, Hylurgopinus rufipes. We have found that four semiochemicals (the monoterpene (-)-beta-pinene and the sesquiterpenes (-)-alpha-cubebene, (+)-spiroaxa-5,7-diene and (+)-delta-cadinene) from diseased American elms, Ulmus americana, synergistically attract H. rufipes, and tha...