Mutualism with aggressive wood-degrading Flavodon ambrosius (Polyporales) facilitates niche expansion and communal social structure in Ambrosiophilus ambrosia beetles

Most wood-boring insects compete with wood decaying basidiomycetes for woody biomass. One clade of ambrosia beetles gained access to rotten wood – an abundant resource unsuitable to most wood-boring insects – by evolving a farming-like mutualism with a white rot polypore. Here we show the mutualist...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fungal ecology 2016-10, Vol.23, p.86-96
Main Authors: Kasson, Matthew T., Wickert, Kristen L., Stauder, Cameron M., Macias, Angie M., Berger, Matthew C., Simmons, D. Rabern, Short, Dylan P.G., DeVallance, David B., Hulcr, Jiri
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ambrosia beetles
Ambrosiodmus
Ambrosiophilus
Ascomycota
biomass
boring insects
catechol oxidase
Communality
decayed wood
evolution
females
Flavodon ambrosius
fungi
Fungus farming
Lignin degradation
mutualism
Polyporales
progeny
social structure
Symbiosis
weight loss
Wood decay
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Summary:Most wood-boring insects compete with wood decaying basidiomycetes for woody biomass. One clade of ambrosia beetles gained access to rotten wood – an abundant resource unsuitable to most wood-boring insects – by evolving a farming-like mutualism with a white rot polypore. Here we show the mutualist of Ambrosiodmus/Ambrosiophilus, the polypore Flavodon ambrosius, is superior in lignocellulolytic capacity compared to Ascomycota ambrosia fungi and other white rot Basidiomycota. This mutualism facilitated the evolution of large, long-lived, communal colonies with overlapping generations and egg-laying by pre-dispersal progeny females. F. ambrosius resembles other white rot Polyporales in that it causes significant weight loss in wood decay assays and strong polyphenol oxidase reactions, indicative of lignin-modifying enzymes. The symbiosis is asymmetrical: there are many species of Ambrosiodmus and Ambrosiophilus but all use a single known species of Flavodon, which determines the ecological strategy of the entire insect clade. •Fungus-farming mutualism discovered between Ambrosiophilus and Flavodon ambrosius.•Flavodon ambrosius is a white rot fungus able to degrade lignin and cellulose.•Communal behavior within multi-generational colonies and egg-laying by F1 females.
ISSN:1754-5048
DOI:10.1016/j.funeco.2016.07.002