Pine terpenoid defences in the mountain pine beetle epidemic and in other conifer pest interactions: specialized enemies are eating holes into a diverse, dynamic and durable defence system

摘要

During the last 15 years, an epidemic of mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) and its associated fungal pathogens (e.g., Grosmannia clavigera Robinson-Jeffrey & R.W. Davidson) has swept through ∼15 million hectares of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Douglas) forests in western Canada and has also infested large areas of pine forests in the northwestern USA. The pine-killing symbiosis of MPB and blue-staining fungi has left behind landscapes of dead trees, an economic scramble and the potential for massively increased carbon emissions from decaying trees (Kurz et al. 2008).