Diversity and Functions of Yeast Communities Associated with Insects

Abstract

Following the concept of the holobiont, insect-microbiota interactions play an important role in insect biology. Many examples of host-associated microorganisms have been reported to drastically influence insect biological processes such as development, physiology, nutrition, survival, immunity, or even vector competence. While a huge number of studies on insect-associated microbiota have focused on bacteria, other microbial partners including fungi have been comparatively neglected. Yeasts, which establish mostly commensal or symbiotic relationships with their host, can dominate the mycobiota of certain insects. This review presents key advances and progress in the research field highlighting the diversity of yeast communities associated with insects, as well as their impact on insect life-history traits, immunity, and behavior.

Seasonal Shifts in Bacterial and Fungal Microbiomes of Leaves and Associated Leaf-Mining Larvae Reveal Persistence of Core Taxa Regardless of Diet

“…We identified those (i) frequent in larvae and less frequent/absent in leaves, (ii) frequent in leaves and less frequent in larvae, and (iii) frequent in both leaves and larvae. The first group comprised taxa with potentially beneficial effects for larvae, e.g., Streptococcus (a common insect gut inhabitant with proteolytic activity potentially helping the host to contend with plant secondary metabolites [ 63 , 64 ]), Candida sake and Debaryomyces prosopidis (common colonizers of insect guts, playing a possible nutritional role [ 65 , 66 ]), and Neoascochyta europaea (a dominant fungal associate of cricket guts [ 67 ]; synthesis of amino acids and oxidative processes in vertebrate guts [ 68 ]). Their levels were typically higher in July and decreased throughout the season.…”

Yeast and fruit fly mutual niche construction and antagonism against mould

“…Micro‐organisms and insects associated with plants share and form habitats where they live in interaction (Joy, 2013; Klepzig & Six, 2004; Ranger et al., 2018). The many facets of coexistence range from antagonism to commensalism and relations of mutual benefit (Douglas, 2015; Kaltenpoth, 2009; Malassigné et al., 2021; Wang & Wang, 2016). Moreover, associations between insects or other animals and microbes typically involve multi‐species communities and change over time, due to biotic and environmental factors (Chomicki et al., 2020; Fischer et al., 2017; Tang et al., 2012).…”

The Bacterial and Fungal Gut Microbiota of the Greater Wax Moth, Galleria mellonella L. Consuming Polyethylene and Polystyrene

“…In relation to fungi, major changes in gut community composition under different diets were not observed in our study; in general, we found significant differences in richness and diversity (relative abundance), mostly Ascomycota characterized the guts of plastic-fed larvae, while Basidiomycota characterized the guts of beeswax-fed larvae. Common symbiotic gut fungi in insects are trichomycetes sensu lato (lineages within the Zygomycota; Cafaro, 2002 ; Valle and Stoianova, 2020 ), yeasts (Ascomycota; Malassigné et al, 2021 ), and Basidiomycota ( Grigorescu et al, 2018 ). The genera we found in the guts of larvae in all three treatments were an unidentified Ascomycota group, followed by Sterigmatomyces (Basidiomycota), and Penidiella (Ascomycota), respectively.…”