Identities of foliar endophytes of conifers

昆虫对加拿大森林的危害是一个主要的经济和环境问题；昆虫不仅通过杀死树木而降低了最终森林收获的价值，而且森林破坏是加拿大二氧化碳排放的最大贡献者之一- BC省山松甲虫的累积损害与所有其他来源的二氧化碳排放量相当。在加拿大东部，即使是适度的温度升高也可能导致昆虫和真菌病原体的流行，这些传染病会杀死针叶树并引发森林火灾，如果木材没有迅速采伐，就会导致过量的二氧化碳释放。该计划将开发新的方法来控制最具经济破坏性的害虫之一——东部云杉budworm，方法是向树木接种对budworm有毒的精选有益真菌（内生菌）；降低了budworm的生长速度，增加了它们与寄生虫和天然细菌病原体的接触。众所周知，来自白云杉的叶面内生菌菌株产生的化合物会影响生长在生长室内以及在田间条件下生长的树木中的云杉芽虫。以前的研究已经导致了内生菌增强的白云杉幼苗的商业规模生产。红云杉内生菌产生抗虫代谢物已被鉴定，也已成功接种。正在探索的白松叶面内生菌可能影响白松水疱锈病和昆虫，如白松象鼻虫的耐受性。水疱锈病是一种引进的病原体，它已经消灭了不列颠哥伦比亚省和美国部分地区的高价值白松。该项目将编纂分类确定性，以记录和开发额外有用的内生真菌菌株，并保护其应用中固有的知识产权（加拿大加强专利保护）。JD Irving有限公司的森林是经过认证的，这需要强大的生态知识基础和有限的农药使用，因此这项研究对他们很重要。加拿大最具竞争力的林产品公司的持续兴趣证明了该计划在经济困难时期的经济相关性。这家公司有能力最大限度地利用这些信息的实际应用。

Insect damage in Canada's forests is a major economic and environmental problem; not only do insects reduce the value of the eventual forest harvest by killing trees, but forest damage is one of Canada's largest contributors to CO2 emissions - cumulative damage from the mountain pine beetle in BC is comparable to CO2 release from all other sources. In eastern Canada, even modest temperature increases may precipitate epidemics of insects and fungal pathogens that kill conifers and promote forest fires, resulting in excessive CO2 release if the wood is not harvested quickly. This program will develop new methods to control the eastern spruce budworm, one of the most economically-damaging pests, by inoculating trees with selected beneficial fungi (endophytes) that are poisonous to the budworm; reducing the budworm growth rate and increasing their exposure to parasites and natural bacterial pathogens. It is known that strains of foliar endophytes from white spruce produce compounds that affect the spruce budworm in trees grown in growth chambers as well as under field conditions. Previous studies have led to the commercial scale production of endophyte-enhanced white spruce seedlings. Red spruce endophytes producing anti-insect metabolites have been identified that have also been successfully inoculated. Under exploration are foliar endophytes of white pine that potentially affect tolerance to white pine blister rust and insects such as the white pine weevil. Blister rust is an introduced pathogen which has eliminated the high value white pine in BC and parts of the USA. This project will codify the taxonomic certainty essential for documenting and developing additional useful endophytic fungal strains and protecting the IP inherent in their application (stronger patent protection for Canada). JD Irving Ltd forests are certified, which demands a strong ecological knowledge base and limited use of pesticides, and thus this research is of importance to them. Sustained interest from the most competitive forest products company in Canada demonstrates this program's economic relevance in these tough economic times. This company has the capacity to make most use of the practical applications of this information.