A diverse and partially cellulolytic fungal community contributes to the diet of three species of the aquatic insect Phylloicus (Trichoptera: Calamoceratidae) in Amazonian streams

Abstract

Investigations on the fungal community associated with the digestive tract (DT) of insects have provided insights into the diversity of associated microorganisms and their potential roles in the interaction with their hosts. However, most studies have focused on terrestrial insects, with few studies focusing on aquatic insects in Neotropical regions. We studied fungal taxa associated with the DT of larval stages of the aquatic shredders Phylloicus amazonas, P. elektoros and P. fenestratus in the Brazilian Amazon Forest. Filamentous fungi were isolated, purifi ed and screened for cellulolytic activity. A total of 33 fungal taxa was identifi ed through the combination of classical and molecular taxonomy. The genus Penicillium was the most frequent in DT of Phylloicus spp. (18.75%).The occurrence of fungal taxa among hosts was quite variable, with more than half of the associated fungi being exclusive of each host species. A signifi cant portion of the fungal community associated with each host presented cellulolytic activity (± 50%). It was concluded that the fungal community associated with Phylloicus spp. larvae consist mainly of fungal taxa from food items, which come from riparian vegetation (whose plant species are variable) or are indigenous of the aquatic ecosystems, which is the habitat of these larvae.

Prospecção De Linhagens Fúngicas Produtoras De Enzimas Hidrolíticas a Partir De Substratos Agroindustriais Usados Em Nutrição Animal

“…Fungos filamentosos são altamente versáteis do ponto de vista metabólico e, por isso, podem crescer e se desenvolver em diferentes substratos e condições ambientais (GAO; WENG; ZHU; YUAN et al, 2008;PES;MORAIS, 2021;VIEIRA;BOMTEMPO;SANTIN;PIMENTA et al, 2017). A prospecção desses organismos a partir de substratos ou ambientes ricos em uma substância de interesse particular (por exemplo, fibras celulósicas) pode aumentar a probabilidade de obtenção de novas espécies e/ou estirpes produtoras de enzimas hidrolíticas de interesse biotecnológico.…”

Fungi from the body surface of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and bioassay of insecticidal activity

“…Several studies have suggested that insects and other arthropods, such as ticks, generally harbor multiple microbial taxa (Douglas 2015;Santos et al 2021). For example, yeasts and filamentous fungi have been recovered from the external surfaces of gorseassociated insect species, including lepidoptera [Cydia ulicetana (Lepidoptera:…”