Electron microscopic examination of vessels and fibre-tracheids in the wood of Alstonia scholaris exposed to tunnelling bacteria (TB) in a liquid culture showed degradation of all areas of the secondary wall. The highly lignified middle lamella was also degraded in advanced stages of TB attack. However, vestured pit membranes and vestures appeared to be resistant to degradation by TB even when other wall areas in Alstonia scholaris wood cells were severely degraded. The size comparison indicated vestures to be considerably smaller than TB, and we suspect that this may primarily be the reason why vestures in Alstonia scholaris wood were found to be resistant to degradation by TB.

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