Fungal spore transport by omnivorous mycophagous slug in temperate forest

Abstract

Slugs are important consumers of fungal fruiting bodies and expected to carry their spores. In this study, we examined whether slugs (Meghimatium fruhstorferi) can act as effective dispersers of spores of basidiomycetes. The microscopic observation confirmed the presence of basidiospores in feces of field‐collected slugs, and the DNA metabarcoding study revealed that Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were major fungal taxa found in the feces. In Basidiomycota, the dominant order was Agaricales followed by Trichosporonales and Hymenochaetales. The laboratory experiments using Tylopilus vinosobrunneus showed that slugs carried a large number of spores in their digestive tracts. It was also observed that Pleurotus, Armillaria, and Gymnopilus spores excreted by slugs had a higher germination capacity than control spores collected from spore prints. The field experiments showed that slugs traveled 10.3 m in 5 h at most by wandering on the ground, litter layers, wood debris, and tree trunks. These results suggest that slugs could carry spores of ectomycorrhizal, saprophytic, and wood‐decaying fungi to appropriate sites for these fungi to establish colonies.

Mammalian Mycophagy: a Global Review of Ecosystem Interactions Between Mammals and Fungi

“…Mammals, reptiles and birds are significant fungal dispersers ( Fogel & Trappe 1978 , Claridge & May 1994 , Maser et al . 2008 , Elliott et al 2019a , b , Caiafa et al 2021 ), but specialised dispersal associations have been most thoroughly studied among invertebrates ( Fogel 1975 , Hammond & Lawrence 1989 , Schigel 2012 , Kitabayashi et al 2022 ). For example, in one of its developmental stages, the entomopathogenic fungal genus Massospora alters the behaviour of male cicadas by using cathinone (an amphetamine) and psilocybin (a tryptamine) to cause males to simulate the behaviour of sexually receptive females ( Boyce et al 2018 , Cooley et al 2018 ).…”

Mycophagy: A Global Review of Interactions between Invertebrates and Fungi

“…Invertebrates can carry spores on their legs or in their intestines [ 38 , 126 , 127 ]. Guyanagaster necrorhizus (Agaricales, Agaricomycetes) spores adhere to the exoskeleton of termites in the genera Cylindrotermes , Dihoplotermes , and Nasutitermes [ 128 ] Several studies show that especially Diptera are adept at carrying viable fungal spores in their intestines [ 39 , 129 , 130 , 131 ].…”

“…Guyanagaster necrorhizus (Agaricales, Agaricomycetes) spores adhere to the exoskeleton of termites in the genera Cylindrotermes , Dihoplotermes , and Nasutitermes [ 128 ] Several studies show that especially Diptera are adept at carrying viable fungal spores in their intestines [ 39 , 129 , 130 , 131 ]. These spores retain the ability to form mutualistic associations with plants [ 40 , 126 ] or infect organisms [ 132 ]. The viability of spores has been suggested to depend on several characteristics, implying variation in their ability to resist digestive enzymes [ 39 ].…”

Quantification of invertebrates on fungal fruit bodies by the use of time‐lapse cameras

“…Indeed, a wide variety of organisms, ranging from microfauna to propagules of plant and fungi, could be dispersed by slugs (Turchetti & Chelazzi, 1984; Türke et al, 2018). A recent study even saw improved germinability of spores from three genera of wood‐decay fungi that had passed through slugs' digestive tracts compared with spore print controls (Kitabayashi et al, 2022). To understand the relative importance of potential vectors, however, we need to estimate the number and duration of visits, known as the quantitative component in the dispersal effectiveness framework commonly used for seed dispersers (Birkemoe et al, 2018; Schupp, 1993; Schupp et al, 2017).…”