Research Topic: Chemical ecology

Alliance Between Conifer Trees and Endophytic Fungi Against Insect Defoliators

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This study discovered that special fungi living inside white spruce trees help protect the trees from damaging insects called budworms. These fungi produce toxic substances and smelly compounds that kill or repel the budworms. When researchers increased the amount of these beneficial fungi in young spruce trees, the trees produced higher levels of protective chemicals called terpenes. This research shows that the relationship between spruce trees, fungi, and insects has evolved together over time, with fungi playing a crucial role in keeping trees healthy.

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Volatile Semiochemicals Emitted by Beauveria bassiana Modulate Larval Feeding Behavior and Food Choice Preference in Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

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Researchers discovered that a beneficial fungus called Beauveria bassiana produces odorous chemicals that can discourage pest insects from eating crops. When certain strains of this fungus release their characteristic smell (particularly a compound called 3-methylbutanol), larvae of the fall armyworm pest eat less and avoid treated plants. Interestingly, the plants themselves respond by producing defensive compounds when exposed to these fungal odors. This finding suggests a new approach to pest control that harnesses the natural chemical communication between fungi, plants, and insects.

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Fungal alkaloids mediate defense against bruchid beetles in field populations of an arborescent ipomoea

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Certain morning glory trees form partnerships with special fungi that produce protective chemicals called alkaloids. These chemicals are made by the fungi and travel through the plant to the seeds, where they protect them from seed-eating beetles. Trees with more effective fungal partners produce higher levels of these protective chemicals and suffer less damage from the beetles, demonstrating a remarkable example of how plants and fungi work together to survive in nature.

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A Fungal Endophyte Alters Poplar Leaf Chemistry, Deters Insect Feeding and Shapes Insect Community Assembly

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Researchers discovered that a fungus living inside poplar trees helps protect them from harmful insects by boosting the tree’s own chemical defences and producing its own deterrent compound called stachydrine. In laboratory tests, the fungus successfully deterred leaf-eating insects from feeding on poplar leaves. However, in field studies, the endophyte-infected trees attracted more aphids while repelling beetles, suggesting the fungus affects different types of insects differently depending on how they feed.

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