Bark beetle induced defense strategies in Norway Spruce

Norway spruce developed constitutive and induced defense responses against herbivores and pathogens. Attack by herbivores like the bark beetle and his associated fungus induces the production of additional new resin in newly formed traumatic resin ducts and the accumulation of a mixture of polyphenolic compounds in specialized cambial cells. We investigate the regulation of terpenoids and polyphenolics by characterizing branch point enzymes that control the flow of metabolites during biosynthesis for a better understanding how both defense strategies function in an ecological context.