ChemInform Abstract: 1994 E.W.R. Steacie Award Lecture Application of Natural Products Chemistry to a Biological Problem

Aspen that bear a certain type of black gall have a lower incidence of heartwood rot (caused by the fungus Phellinustremulae) than do nearby non-gall trees. Efforts to determine the chemical nature of this black gall effect are described. The metabolites of some fungi associated with the black gall (Phomaetheridgei, Stachybotryscylindrospora), and of the rotting fungus Phellinustremulae, are described. Extracts of the black gall tissue have a very high concentration of benzoic acid and it is suggested that the benzoic acid may play a role in the protection of the galled trees. Keywords: fungal metabolites, aspen, benzoic acid, salicylic acid, black galls on aspen, Phellinustremulae.