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Fungal Associates of Soft Scale Insects (Coccomorpha: Coccidae)

Teresa Szklarzewicz1, Katarzyna Michalik1, Beata Grzywacz2

  • 1Department of Developmental Biology and Morphology of Invertebrates, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Gronostajowa 9, 30-387 Kraków, Poland.

Cells
|August 27, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Ophiocordyceps fungi are revealed as essential symbionts, not just pathogens, in sap-sucking hemipterans. These Ophiocordycipitaceae fungi are obligately transmitted between generations in scale insects.

Area of Science:

  • Entomology
  • Mycology
  • Insect-Fungal Symbiosis

Background:

  • Ophiocordyceps fungi are typically known as insect pathogens.
  • Recent research suggests potential symbiotic roles within the Ophiocordycipitaceae family.
  • This study explores the less-understood symbiotic interactions of Ophiocordyceps.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the symbiotic relationship between Ophiocordyceps fungi and scale insects (Coccidae family).
  • To determine if Ophiocordyceps fungi are obligatory symbionts in sap-sucking hemipterans.
  • To analyze the transmission mechanisms of these fungal symbionts.

Main Methods:

  • Histological and ultrastructural analyses of eight Polish Coccidae species.
  • Molecular analyses using ITS2 and Beta-tubulin gene sequences.
  • Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).

Main Results:

  • All eight studied scale insect species host Ophiocordyceps fungal symbionts in their fat body cells.
  • Molecular and FISH analyses confirm the classification of these symbionts within the Ophiocordyceps genus.
  • Transovarial transmission of fungal symbionts was confirmed, demonstrating their essential role across generations.

Conclusions:

  • Ophiocordyceps fungi act as obligatory symbionts in the studied soft scale insects.
  • The findings reveal a novel symbiotic role for Ophiocordyceps, expanding beyond entomopathogenicity.
  • This research provides the first detailed TEM analysis of fungal symbiont transmission stages in scale insects.
Keywords:
Ophiocordycepssoft scale insectssymbiosistransovarial transmission

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