INFLUENCE OF CARBON SOURCES ON THE PRODUCTION OF THE TERMITE TRAIL-FOLLOWING SUBSTANCE BY Gloeophyllum trabeum

Efforts were made to study the effects of various carbon sources on the production of the trail-following substance (Z, Z, E)-3,6,8-dodecatrien-l-ol in the brown-rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum (= Lenzites trabea). The substance is found in a southern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes virginicus, and is known to function as the trail-following pheromone. The fungus could not produce it when grown on a low potato-dextrose medium. On addition of several simple carbon sources, however, the fungus actively produced the substance. Ethylene glycol, glyceraldehyde, and xylose yielded the highest production of the substance. Using 1,2-C-14-ethylene glycol as a tracer, we demonstrated that the given carbon source was incorporated into the trail-following substance by the fungus.