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A cross-section of a declining ironwood tree in Guam shows drops of whitish ooze caused by the bacterial wilt pathogen and a ring of dark stained tissue caused by wetwood bacteria.  Photo courtesy of UOG
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With U.S. Department of Agriculture grants totaling almost $370,000, researchers from the University of Guam and other institutions are in the process of analyzing termites to assess their role in infecting what is now more than 20 percent of Guam’s ironwood trees, locally known as gago, with a deadly bacterium...the ironwood tree — a hearty, salt-resistant species important for soil erosion control and a protector of vegetation from the wind — unexpectedly began dying off in Guam. 

Original Article