Dynamics of the fungal symbionts in the gallery system and the mycangia of the ambrosia beetle, Xylosandrus mutilatus (Blandford) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in relation to its life history

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Abstract

Abstract The dynamics of the fungal symbionts in the gallery system and the mycangia of the ambrosia beetle, Xylosandrus mutilatus , were studied in relation to its life history using both isolation experiments and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In the galleries, Ambrosiella sp. was predominant during the larval stages but its relative dominance gradually decreased during the development of the larvae. In contrast, yeasts (mainly Candida sp.) and Paecilomyces sp. dominated continuously in the galleries after eclosion. Ambrosiella sp. was consistently stored in the mycangia in all adult stages, except in the teneral and overwintering adults when the other fungi were dominant. No fungal spores occurred in the mycangia of the adult beetles reared under aseptic conditions from the pupal stage, while only Ambrosiella sp. was stored in those reared from the teneral‐adult stage. These results suggest that: (i) X mutilatus is associated with at least three fungal species, among which Ambrosiella sp. is the most essential food resource for development of the broods; (ii) immediately after eclosion, new female adults may take at least four associated fungal species, with no or incomplete selection, into their mycangia from the walls of the cradles; and (iii) conditions may well be produced in the mycangia of both matured and dispersing beetles whereby only the spores of Ambrosiella sp. can proliferate.

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