Cytotoxicity and insecticidal activity of endophytic fungi from black spruce (Picea mariana) needles

1994 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Johnson ◽  
N. J. Whitney

Hyphae and hyphal extracts from fungi isolated from inside healthy black spruce needles were assayed for their effect on spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) cell cultures and larvae. Isolates were from needles of four age-classes (current –3 years old) collected throughout a 4-month sampling period. Hyphal extracts from 21 of the 100 isolates tested were toxic to spruce budworm cell cultures and isolates from older needles (2 and 3 years old) negatively affected cells more frequently (p < 0.05) than isolates from younger needles (current and 1 year old). Hyphae from five isolates and hyphal extracts from seven increased mortality (p < 0.05) when fed to second instar larvae in a laboratory bioassay. Development was delayed and larval dry mass reduced when budworm were fed hyphae from Cryptocline abietina Petrak (isolate number 69). Larval dry mass was reduced when budworm were fed the extract from Aureobasidium pullulons (de Bary) Am. (isolate 87) but increased when fed Cryptocline abietina (isolates 40 and 80), a coelomycete (isolate 12), and Hormonema dematioides (isolates 28, 63, and 96).Key words: endophytic fungi, budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana, Picea mariana, toxicity.

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (9) ◽  
pp. 1754-1757 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Johnson ◽  
N. J. Whitney

Endophytic fungi were isolated from black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) dormant buds and needles of four age-classes. Only one isolate was obtained from 400 buds. A total of 914 isolates were obtained from the needles. With increasing needle age the rate of colonization increased between current-year and 3-year-old needles from 4 to 90%, respectively. The needle segment attached to the twig was colonized more often (p < 0.05) than other segments overall and for 6 of the 11 taxa isolated. The first endophyte from current-year needles was isolated on July 14, 1988, but endophytes were obtained from needles of the other age-classes (1, 2, and 3 years) on all sampling dates between June 10 and September 16, 1988. Key words: endophyte, Picea mariana, dormand buds, needles.


2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 284-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A Findlay ◽  
Guoqiang Li ◽  
J David Miller ◽  
Taiwo O Womiloju

Extracts of fermentation cultures of a fungal endophyte (DAOM 221611) from spruce needles have afforded the known macrocyclic antibiotic vermiculin (1), 7α,8β,11-trihydroxydrimane (2), and eight novel 13-carbon γ-lactones, namely trans-3-methyldodec-cis-6-en-4-olide (3), trans-8-hydroxy-3-methyldodec-cis-6-en-4-olide (4), trans-8-acetoxy-3-methyldodec-cis-6-en-4-olide (5), trans-9-hydroxy-3-methyl-8-oxo-dodec-trans-6-en-4-olide (6), trans-8,9-dihydroxy-3-methyldodec-cis-6-en-4-olide (7), trans-9-hydroxy-8-oxo-3-methyldodecan-4-olide (8), trans-7,9-dihydroxy-3-methyl-8-oxo-dodecan-4-olide (9), and trans-6-hydroxymethyl-3-methyl-7-oxo-undecan-4-olide (10). A known JH III metabolism product, 10,11-dihydroxyfarnesenic acid (11), was also isolated and synthesized from farnesol. Other endophyte cultures from black spruce and white spruce afforded the novel 6,7-dihydroxy-2-propyl-2,4-octadien-4-olide (16), 5,6,8-trihydroxy-4-(1'-hydroxyethyl) isocoumarin (17) plus the known sescandelin (18), sescandelin B (19), and 4-hydroxy-2-methoxyacetanilide (20). Several of the γ-lactones showed toxicity to spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) larvae and vermiculin 1 and compound 16 were toxic to spruce budworm cells.Key words: toxigenic endophytes, insect toxins, γ-lactones, isocoumarins.


1957 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 364-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Blais

Spruce budworm larvae feeding on black spruce had a lower rate of development and a higher rate of mortality than those feeding on white spruce or balsam fir. This was attributable to the lateness in opening of the black spruce buds rather than to the inferior nutritional quality of the foliage. When staminate flowers were present in abundance on black spruce trees, development and survival of the insect was fairly similar to that on the other two species of trees; the flowers provided adequate food at the time of the third and fourth instars thus permitting the larvae to survive until the opening of the shoot buds. The late opening of the black spruce buds explains the relative immunity of this species to severe spruce budworm damage.


2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 1059-1066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto L. Salomón ◽  
Emilie Tarroux ◽  
Annie DesRochers

Spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) outbreaks cause extensive mortality and growth reductions throughout boreal forests in eastern North America. As tree vulnerability to defoliation remains partially unexplained by tree and stand attributes, we hypothesized that root grafting might attenuate the negative impact of severe defoliation in tree growth. Two experimental sites in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana Mill.) were harvested and hydraulically excavated to study tree growth in 36 trees in relation to root grafting and the last spruce budworm outbreak using dendroecological methods. Root grafts reduced the negative effects of defoliation by maintaining stable growth in connected trees during epidemic periods. Among dominant trees, growth releases immediately after the outbreak were uniquely observed in grafted trees. Among suppressed trees, grafted trees tended to grow more than non-grafted trees when defoliation severity was the highest. Carbohydrate transfers through root grafts and enhanced efficiency to acquire resources may explain the better performance of grafted trees under scenarios of limited carbon supply. This study reinforces the growing body of literature that suggests root grafting as a cooperative strategy to withstand severe disturbances and highlights the key role of root grafting in stand dynamics to cope with periodic outbreaks.


2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 1410-1419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa E. Lacey ◽  
Jeffery P. Dech

The objective of this study was to determine if the stand‐level soil moisture regime had a significant effect on the reduction in black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) radial growth during the most recent spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) outbreak in the boreal forest region of northeastern Ontario. We collected a stratified random sample of co-dominant black spruce trees from three moisture regimes and compared the reduction of radial growth during a spruce budworm outbreak between dry, moist, and wet stands. We focused on the most recent outbreak from 1975–1987, which we dated by dendrochronological analysis of black spruce increment cores from the Romeo Malette Forest near Timmins, Ontario. Samples collected from dry and moist sites showed significantly greater maximum radial growth reduction than those from wet sites. Mean growth reduction over the entire outbreak was not significantly different among moisture regimes but followed the same trend. We found no evidence of spatial autocorrelation in the growth reduction response, suggesting that the moisture effect was not confounded by location.


2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 1220-1227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelia Krause ◽  
Boris Luszczynski ◽  
Hubert Morin ◽  
Sergio Rossi ◽  
Pierre-Y. Plourde

Spruce budworm ( Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)) defoliation is known to regularly produce radial growth decrease in black spruce ( Picea mariana (Mill.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.) in the boreal forest of Quebec. Some studies have already shown that the first year of defoliation does not induce growth losses in the stem but could occur in other tree parts. We therefore examined the timing and duration of the growth reduction caused by the last outbreak in black spruce by also considering the branches. More than 79% of branches and 65% of stems exhibited a >40% growth decrease.The reduction was first registered in the upper part of the stem before being detected lower in the stem in 87% of the trees. Probabilities of growth reduction in the upper part of the stem were highest in 1976 and 1977. In the lower stem, the probabilities were highest in 1978. An interesting finding was that in 69% of the studied stands, the probability of growth reduction started earlier (1–2 years) in the branches than in the stem at 1.3 m. Branch analysis should be considered whenever questions arise in regard to the evolution of spruce budworm defoliation as well as the timing of observed growth reduction in black spruce.


2009 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelia Krause ◽  
Hubert Morin ◽  
Pierre-Y. Plourde

In the boreal forest of Quebec, 80% of harvested black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] BSP) stands regenerate naturally. In the remaining 20%, forest regeneration is ensured by planting seedlings and these plantations are expected to increase future forest yields. However, predictions of future yields using the information from very young plantations in this ecosystem may have low accuracy. To compare juvenile growth in plantations versus naturally regenerated stands, and also to evaluate the impacts of spruce budworm Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens) defoliation periods during the juvenile phase, annual height and volume growth were calculated from measurements on nine black spruce stands. The nine sites consisted of two plantations and seven post-fire, naturally regenerated stands. Of the seven naturally regenerated sites, four were epidemic and 3 endemic. The term “epidemic” refers to stands regenerated during known spruce budworm defoliation periods. The term “endemic” refers to stands regenerated during periods without severe defoliation. For height and volume growth, 5 different methods were used and compared. The annual height and volume growth of all black spruce showed a sigmoid trend, characterized by low values in the first years after germination, followed by an exponential acceleration and finally oscillation around a horizontal asymptote. The black spruce stands established during endemic periods were more productive than those established during epidemic periods, but plantations were the most productive. Key words: black spruce, juvenile growth, plantation, post-fire stands, spruce budworm outbreak, volume, yield


1988 ◽  
Vol 120 (12) ◽  
pp. 1113-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y.H. Prévost ◽  
J.E. Laing ◽  
V.F. Haavisto

AbstractThe seasonal damage to female reproductive structures (buds, flowers, and cones) of black spruce, Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P., was assessed during 1983 and 1984. Nineteen insects (five Orders) and the red squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (Erxleben), were found feeding on these reproductive structures. Collectively, these organisms damaged 88.9 and 53.5% of the cones in 1983 and 1984, respectively. In the 2 years, Lepidoptera damaged 61.8% of the cones in 1983 and 44.4% of the cones in 1984. The spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), and the spruce coneworm, Dioryctria reniculelloides Mut. and Mun., were the most important pests. Cones damaged by Lepidoptera could be classed into three categories: (a) severe, yielding no seeds; (b) moderate, yielding 22.3 seeds per cone; and (c) light, yielding 37.5 seeds per cone. Undamaged cones yielded on average 39.9 seeds per cone. Red squirrels removed 18.8% of the cones in 1983 and none in 1984. The spruce cone axis midge, Dasineura rachiphaga Tripp, and the spruce cone maggot, Lasiomma anthracinum (Czerny), caused minor damage in both years. Feeding by spruce cone axis midge did not reduce cone growth significantly or the number of viable seeds per cone, but feeding by the spruce cone maggot did. During both years new damage by insects to the female reproductive structures of the experimental trees was not observed after mid-July. In 1983 damage by red squirrels occurred from early to late September. In 1984 damage to cones on trees treated with dimethoate was 15.6% compared with 53.5% for untreated trees, without an increase in the number of aborted cones.


1986 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 254-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Chris Bergh ◽  
William D. Seabrook

The mating status of recently-mated male spruce budworm moths, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), caught in traps baited with five different treatments was indexed. During two sampling periods at two test sites both virgin and mated C. fumiferana males were trapped. Significantly more unmated males were captured early in the flight season. There was no significant difference between the proportion of mated and unmated males caught near the end of the flight season. Within sampling periods and sites there were not significant differences among treatments in the proportion of mated males captured nor were these proportions significantly different within sampling periods and between sites. Within sites and between sampling periods the proportion of mated males captured was significantly different, with more mated males being trapped during the later sampling period. The four lepidopteran species for which methodologies have been developed for indexing male mating status are compared with respect to the nature and behaviour of the colored ejaculatory duct fluids that are used as markers of mating history. Current limitations of the method are discussed and possible solutions to these are suggested.


1997 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 645-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin W. Wanner ◽  
Blair V. Helson ◽  
Barry C. Kostyk

AbstractNeem seed extract (20, 60, and 180 ppm azadirachtin) applied to the crowns of black spruce trees immediately prior to female reproductive bud flush, resulted in high mortality of early instar spruce budworm larvae. Dose-dependent reductions of 40–93%, as compared with check trees, were observed 2 and 4.5 weeks after treatment. Seed cone protection from grazing damage, however, was moderate; at 60 ppm azadirachtin, the incidence of cone grazing was reduced 29%, and the proportion of severely grazed cones reduced 39%, as compared with check trees. Larval mortality and bud damage observed in the laboratory corroborated field results. High toxicity to second-instar larvae, and performance during adverse weather conditions, supports the potential of neem seed extract for control of spruce budworm defoliation. However, both laboratory and field results indicate that feeding occurs before the effects of neem seed extract manifest, resulting in moderate protection of cones. Whereas foliage can tolerate low levels of feeding, female strobili are damaged significantly. Excellent protection of foliage was achieved from systemic injections of neem seed extract to white and black spruce trees (1.5 g azadirachtin/tree). Neem seed extract, formulated for systemic application, could provide a botanical alternative for control of forest pests in urban environments.


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