Bark beetles can destroy spruce forests by converting the trees' defences into even more toxic substances, scientists recently discovered. But a special fungus can help the trees circumvent this ...

Spruce bark is rich in phenolic compounds that protect trees from pathogenic fungi. A research team at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena has investigated how these plant defenses ...

Spruce bark beetles don’t just tolerate their host tree’s chemical defenses—they actively reshape them into stronger antifungal protections. These stolen defenses help shield the beetles from ...