title: Baldcypress allelochemics and the inhibition of silkworm enteric microorganisms Some Ecological Considerations.
abstract: Exposure ofBombyx mori larvae to 2-furaldehyde, a major volatile component of baldcypress heartwood,Taxodium distichum, resulted in in vivo inhibition of enteric microorganisms at concentrations (1-47 ppm) that were released naturally from heartwood. The 7 bacterial and 2 fungal enteric isolates were also inhibited in vitro at the same concentrations. It is suggested that inhibition of leaf surface micro-organisms or in vivo inhibition of silkworm enteric microflora, as a result of indirect or direct action of 2-furaldehyde, exacerbates the growth-inhibitory effects of this compound on larvae by reducing the microbial nutritional contribution. The ecological significance of insect enteric microbial inhibition by plant allelochemics is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, Georgia.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Aldrich
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Blum