Mountain pine beetle attack associated with low levels of 4-allylanisole in ponderosa pine

Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) is the most important insect pest in southern Rocky Mountain ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests. Tree mortality is hastened by the various fungal pathogens that are symbiotic with the beetles. The phenylpropanoid 4-allylanisole is an antifungal and semiochemical for some pine beetle species. We analyzed 4-allylanisole and monoterpene profiles in the xylem oleoresin from a total of 107 trees at six sites from two chemotypes of ponderosa pine found in Colorado and New Mexico using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Although monoterpene profiles were essentially the same in attacked and nonattacked trees, significantly lower levels of 4-allylanisole were found in attacked trees compared with trees that showed no evidence of attack for both chemotypes.