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Volatile organic compounds influence the interaction of the Eurasian spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) with its fungal symbionts

Kandasamy, Dineshkumar LU orcid ; Gershenzon, Jonathan ; Andersson, Martin N. LU and Hammerbacher, Almuth (2019) In ISME Journal 13(7). p.1788-1800
Abstract

Insects have mutualistic symbioses with a variety of microorganisms. However, the chemical signals that maintain these insect-microbe relationships are poorly known compared to those from insect-plant symbioses. The spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus, the most destructive forest pest in Europe, has a symbiotic relationship with several fungi that are believed to contribute to its successful invasion of Norway spruce. Here we tested the hypothesis that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from fungal symbionts could be cues for bark beetles to recognize and distinguish among members of its microbial community. Behavioral experiments with fungi showed that immature adults of I. typographus are attracted to food sources colonized by... (More)

Insects have mutualistic symbioses with a variety of microorganisms. However, the chemical signals that maintain these insect-microbe relationships are poorly known compared to those from insect-plant symbioses. The spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus, the most destructive forest pest in Europe, has a symbiotic relationship with several fungi that are believed to contribute to its successful invasion of Norway spruce. Here we tested the hypothesis that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from fungal symbionts could be cues for bark beetles to recognize and distinguish among members of its microbial community. Behavioral experiments with fungi showed that immature adults of I. typographus are attracted to food sources colonized by their fungal symbionts but not to saprophytic fungi and that this attraction is mediated by volatile cues. GC-MS measurements revealed that the symbionts emitted VOCs. Testing the activity of these compounds on beetle antennae using single sensillum recordings showed that beetles detect many fungal volatiles and possess olfactory sensory neurons specialized for these compounds. Finally, synthetic blends of fungal volatiles attracted beetles in olfactometer experiments. These findings indicate that volatile compounds produced by fungi may act as recognition signals for bark beetles to maintain specific microbial communities that might have impact on their fitness.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Animals, Europe, Female, Fungi/chemistry, Male, Picea/parasitology, Plant Bark/parasitology, Symbiosis/drug effects, Volatile Organic Compounds/pharmacology, Weevils/drug effects
in
ISME Journal
volume
13
issue
7
pages
13 pages
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • scopus:85063057143
  • pmid:30872804
ISSN
1751-7362
DOI
10.1038/s41396-019-0390-3
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f211ca2e-50bd-40b1-b885-0d348913121d
date added to LUP
2019-03-29 13:28:29
date last changed
2024-06-12 09:58:26
@article{f211ca2e-50bd-40b1-b885-0d348913121d,
  abstract     = {{<p>Insects have mutualistic symbioses with a variety of microorganisms. However, the chemical signals that maintain these insect-microbe relationships are poorly known compared to those from insect-plant symbioses. The spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus, the most destructive forest pest in Europe, has a symbiotic relationship with several fungi that are believed to contribute to its successful invasion of Norway spruce. Here we tested the hypothesis that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from fungal symbionts could be cues for bark beetles to recognize and distinguish among members of its microbial community. Behavioral experiments with fungi showed that immature adults of I. typographus are attracted to food sources colonized by their fungal symbionts but not to saprophytic fungi and that this attraction is mediated by volatile cues. GC-MS measurements revealed that the symbionts emitted VOCs. Testing the activity of these compounds on beetle antennae using single sensillum recordings showed that beetles detect many fungal volatiles and possess olfactory sensory neurons specialized for these compounds. Finally, synthetic blends of fungal volatiles attracted beetles in olfactometer experiments. These findings indicate that volatile compounds produced by fungi may act as recognition signals for bark beetles to maintain specific microbial communities that might have impact on their fitness.</p>}},
  author       = {{Kandasamy, Dineshkumar and Gershenzon, Jonathan and Andersson, Martin N. and Hammerbacher, Almuth}},
  issn         = {{1751-7362}},
  keywords     = {{Animals; Europe; Female; Fungi/chemistry; Male; Picea/parasitology; Plant Bark/parasitology; Symbiosis/drug effects; Volatile Organic Compounds/pharmacology; Weevils/drug effects}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{7}},
  pages        = {{1788--1800}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{ISME Journal}},
  title        = {{Volatile organic compounds influence the interaction of the Eurasian spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) with its fungal symbionts}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41396-019-0390-3}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/s41396-019-0390-3}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}