Yeasts and filamentous fungi inhabiting guts of three insect species in Assiut, Egypt

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate for the first time in Egypt the biodiversity of mycobiota that inhabit the guts of three insect species collected from Assiut Governorate. 50 adult insect samples (28 worker honey bees, 11 black beetles and 11 red palm weevils) were analyzed. 68 species and three varieties were recovered of which 49 species and 2 varieties were filamentous fungi and 19 species + one variety were yeasts. The number of taxa recovered from red-palm weevils and honey bees was almost equal, while lower number was isolated from beetles. However, a higher number of yeast species was obtained from the gut of red-palm weevils than those obtained from honey bees or black beetles. Some filamentous species were recovered from the guts of the three insect species (Aspergillus niger, A. parasiticus, A. terreus, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Penicillium chrysogenum), while others were reported from one or two insect species. However, none of yeast species was regularly recovered from the three insect guts, but two insect species may share the same yeast species in their guts. Other yeast species were restrictedly isolated from guts of one insect species. Some gut samples were fungi-free. To our knowledge, some of the isolated yeast species are being reported here for the first time from insect guts. On the other hand, ITS sequence data from several strains did not match well with those of known described species, and are probably new species.

Compartmentalization of bacterial and fungal microbiomes in the gut of adult honeybees

“…Fungal members have previously been detected in the honeybee gut, with their origin being mainly ascribed to food intake 32 – 34 , 37 , 38 , 70 . Yeasts are common gut inhabitants of insects, such as Drosophila fruit flies, wasps, and mosquitoes 12 , 71 – 74 , which may be owing to their ability to thrive in sugar-rich environments 75 .…”

Quantifying the Role of Ground Beetles for the Dispersal of Fusarium and Alternaria Fungi in Agricultural Landscapes

“…In general, the gut mycobiota of insects could either closely relate to the fungi in the food and the environment of the insects, or fungal species composition in the guts could change independently from the environmental mycobiota which suggests a filtering mechanism [11,51]. Commonly found fungal genera in the guts of insects are Aspergillus, Mucor, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Penicillium, yeasts like basidiomycetes, or ascomycetes [51,54]. The feces of arthropods can be a relevant inoculum source since the propagules of many fungal species stay viable after digestion, like Fusarium oxysporum, the Grapevine Trunk Disease Pathogens Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, or Fusarium proliferatum [5,15,55].…”

Identification and characterization of compounds from Chrysosporium multifidum, a fungus with moderate antimicrobial activity isolated from Hermetia illucens gut microbiota

“…Chrysosporium has been isolated from chicken guano samples [16], which makes it likely that it BSF larvae acquired it from their diet. It is also possible that this fungus was selected by the BSF’s biological system, as the fungus may provide enzymes or even beneficial antimicrobial substances to the larvae in exchange for an environment with enough nutrients for growth and development [17]. It is known that some of these selected fungi can survive in glandular cavities or cuticular invaginations called mycangia where they can develop and reproduce while being transported to new hosts by the insects [18,19].…”