Pseudoxylaria as stowaway of the fungus-growing termite nest: Interaction asymmetry between Pseudoxylaria, Termitomyces and free-living relatives

Though inconspicuous in healthy nests, Pseudoxylaria species are almost always present and overgrow deteriorating fungus-growing termite gardens. Whether these fungi are detrimental to the fungus-garden, benign, or even beneficial is unclear. We hypothesize that Pseudoxylaria is a stowaway that prac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fungal ecology 2011-10, Vol.4 (5), p.322-332
Main Authors: Visser, Anna A., Kooij, Pepijn W., Debets, Alfons J.M., Kuyper, Thomas W., Aanen, Duur K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ant-microbe symbiosis
Antagonism
carbon
Carbon source competition
endophytes
evolution
Fungal symbionts
fungi
Fungus-growing termites
gardens
Interaction
Isoptera
macrotermitinae
major workers
Mutualism
mycelial interactions
odontotermes-formosanus
Pseudoxylaria
Symbiosis
termite mounds
Termitomyces
volatile production
Xylaria
Xylariaceae
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Summary:Though inconspicuous in healthy nests, Pseudoxylaria species are almost always present and overgrow deteriorating fungus-growing termite gardens. Whether these fungi are detrimental to the fungus-garden, benign, or even beneficial is unclear. We hypothesize that Pseudoxylaria is a stowaway that practices a sit-and-wait strategy to survive in the termite nest. Using isolates from three different termite genera to test our hypothesis, we compared Pseudoxylaria’s growth on 40 carbon sources with that of Termitomyces and tested its interaction with Termitomyces. The C-source use of both fungi largely overlapped, indicating potential for competition. One-to-one interactions between Pseudoxylaria, Termitomyces and free-living relatives showed that Pseudoxylaria and Termitomyces strains interacted differently with each other than with each other’s free-living relatives. Both fungi grew less together than when growing alone, confirming that they compete. Pseudoxylaria was more strongly inhibited by Termitomyces than free-living Xylariaceae were. The results suggest that the symbiotic lifestyle adopted by Pseudoxylaria goes together with reduced antagonism towards Termitomyces, consistent with Pseudoxylaria being a stowaway.
ISSN:1754-5048
DOI:10.1016/j.funeco.2011.05.003