Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

A Plant-Based Platform for the Production of Bark Beetle Pheromones

Ontiveros-Cisneros, Abraham LU orcid ; Salfeld, Jule ; Paulsson, Sofia ; Ding, Bao Jian LU ; Wang, Hong Lei LU ; Friberg, Magne LU ; Löfstedt, Christer LU and Van Aken, Olivier LU (2026) In Plant Biotechnology Journal 24(4). p.2442-2456
Abstract

Bark beetle species of the genera Ips and Dendroctonus represent a threat to forests in both North America and Europe. Under normal circumstances, these beetles recycle dying trees into nutrients, but under certain conditions, growing populations can overcome healthy tree defenses and cause severe economic loss in forestry. The most economically relevant bark beetle species communicate with aggregation pheromones such as ipsdienol, cis-verbenol and trans-verbenol. These pheromones are currently used in synthetic baits as part of control strategies for bark beetles, although their chemical synthesis makes them expensive to use. Here, we explore the possibility of producing bark beetle pheromones in plant factories, since these compounds... (More)

Bark beetle species of the genera Ips and Dendroctonus represent a threat to forests in both North America and Europe. Under normal circumstances, these beetles recycle dying trees into nutrients, but under certain conditions, growing populations can overcome healthy tree defenses and cause severe economic loss in forestry. The most economically relevant bark beetle species communicate with aggregation pheromones such as ipsdienol, cis-verbenol and trans-verbenol. These pheromones are currently used in synthetic baits as part of control strategies for bark beetles, although their chemical synthesis makes them expensive to use. Here, we explore the possibility of producing bark beetle pheromones in plant factories, since these compounds can be derived from isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) from the mevalonic acid (MVA) and methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways in plants. By the combined expression of enzymes from plants and bark beetles, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana can produce the intermediates β-myrcene (ipsdienol biosynthesis pathway) and α-pinene (verbenol biosynthesis pathway). Furthermore, we were able to produce the final products cis-verbenol and trans-verbenol in stably transformed Arabidopsis, without the addition of external substrates. Finally, we achieved the production of verbenone, an anti-aggregation pheromone derived from verbenol, which deters bark beetles from a host. These results are an important step towards using plants as biofactories for a cheaper and greener production of pheromones and repellent components for artificial baits.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
cis-verbenol, Dendroctonus, Ips, ipsdienol, metabolic engineering, plant biotechnology, trans-verbenol, α-pinene, β-myrcene
in
Plant Biotechnology Journal
volume
24
issue
4
pages
15 pages
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:105025052902
  • pmid:41405145
ISSN
1467-7644
DOI
10.1111/pbi.70481
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
id
60647ee8-2599-4cc6-8048-906c970948e7
date added to LUP
2026-03-02 15:52:48
date last changed
2026-06-10 09:11:01
@article{60647ee8-2599-4cc6-8048-906c970948e7,
  abstract     = {{<p>Bark beetle species of the genera Ips and Dendroctonus represent a threat to forests in both North America and Europe. Under normal circumstances, these beetles recycle dying trees into nutrients, but under certain conditions, growing populations can overcome healthy tree defenses and cause severe economic loss in forestry. The most economically relevant bark beetle species communicate with aggregation pheromones such as ipsdienol, cis-verbenol and trans-verbenol. These pheromones are currently used in synthetic baits as part of control strategies for bark beetles, although their chemical synthesis makes them expensive to use. Here, we explore the possibility of producing bark beetle pheromones in plant factories, since these compounds can be derived from isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) from the mevalonic acid (MVA) and methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways in plants. By the combined expression of enzymes from plants and bark beetles, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana can produce the intermediates β-myrcene (ipsdienol biosynthesis pathway) and α-pinene (verbenol biosynthesis pathway). Furthermore, we were able to produce the final products cis-verbenol and trans-verbenol in stably transformed Arabidopsis, without the addition of external substrates. Finally, we achieved the production of verbenone, an anti-aggregation pheromone derived from verbenol, which deters bark beetles from a host. These results are an important step towards using plants as biofactories for a cheaper and greener production of pheromones and repellent components for artificial baits.</p>}},
  author       = {{Ontiveros-Cisneros, Abraham and Salfeld, Jule and Paulsson, Sofia and Ding, Bao Jian and Wang, Hong Lei and Friberg, Magne and Löfstedt, Christer and Van Aken, Olivier}},
  issn         = {{1467-7644}},
  keywords     = {{cis-verbenol; Dendroctonus; Ips; ipsdienol; metabolic engineering; plant biotechnology; trans-verbenol; α-pinene; β-myrcene}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{2442--2456}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Plant Biotechnology Journal}},
  title        = {{A Plant-Based Platform for the Production of Bark Beetle Pheromones}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70481}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/pbi.70481}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}