Invasive Asian Fusarium – Euwallacea ambrosia beetle mutualists pose a serious threat to forests, urban landscapes and the avocado industry

Several species of the ambrosia beetle Euwallacea (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) cultivate Ambrosia Fusarium Clade (AFC) species in their galleries as a source of food. Like all other scolytine beetles in the tribe Xyleborini, Euwallacea are thought to be obligate mutualists with their fung...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Phytoparasitica 2016-09, Vol.44 (4), p.435-442
Main Authors: O’Donnell, Kerry, Libeskind-Hadas, Ran, Hulcr, Jiri, Bateman, Craig, Kasson, Matthew T., Ploetz, Randy C., Konkol, Joshua L., Ploetz, Jill N., Carrillo, Daniel, Campbell, Alina, Duncan, Rita E., Liyanage, Pradeepa N. H., Eskalen, Akif, Lynch, Shannon C., Geiser, David M., Freeman, Stanley, Mendel, Zvi, Sharon, Michal, Aoki, Takayuki, Cossé, Allard A., Rooney, Alejandro P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Ambrosia
ambrosia beetles
Australia
avocados
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Coleoptera
Curculionidae
Ecology
Euwallacea
foods
Forests
Fusarium
Insects
introduced species
Israel
Landscape ecology
Life Sciences
mutualism
Persea americana
pests
Plant diseases
Plant Pathology
Plant Sciences
Scolytinae
symbionts
Symbiosis
United States
urban areas
woody plants
Xyleborini
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Summary:Several species of the ambrosia beetle Euwallacea (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) cultivate Ambrosia Fusarium Clade (AFC) species in their galleries as a source of food. Like all other scolytine beetles in the tribe Xyleborini, Euwallacea are thought to be obligate mutualists with their fungal symbionts. Published diversification-time estimates suggest that the Euwallacea – Fusarium symbiosis evolved once approximately 21 million years ago. Female Euwallacea possess paired oral mycangia within which foundresses transport their Fusarium symbiont vertically from their natal gallery to new woody hosts. During the past two decades, exotic Asian Euwallacea – Fusarium mutualists have been introduced into the United States, Israel and Australia. Because these invasive pests attack and can reproduce on living woody hosts, they pose a serious threat to native forests, urban landscapes and the avocado industry.
ISSN:0334-2123
1876-7184
DOI:10.1007/s12600-016-0543-0