Fungal garden making inside bamboos by a non-social fungus-growing beetle

PLoS One. 2013 Nov 5;8(11):e79515. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079515. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

In fungus-growing mutualism, it is indispensable for host animals to establish gardens of the symbiotic fungus as rapidly as possible. How to establish fungal gardens has been well-documented in social fungus-farming insects, whereas poorly documented in non-social fungus-farming insects. Here we report that the non-social, fungus-growing lizard beetle Doubledaya bucculenta (Coleoptera: Erotylidae: Languriinae) transmits the symbiotic yeast Wickerhamomyces anomalus from the ovipositor-associated mycangium into bamboo internode cavities and disperses the yeast in the cavities to make gardens. Microbial isolation and cryo-scanning electron microscopy observation revealed that W. anomalus was constantly located on the posterior ends of eggs, where larvae came out, and on the inner openings of oviposition holes. Direct observation of oviposition behavior inside internodes revealed that the distal parts of ovipositors showed a peristaltic movement when they were in contact with the posterior ends of eggs. Rearing experiments showed that W. anomalus was spread much more rapidly and widely on culture media and internodes in the presence of the larvae than in the absence. These results suggest that the ovipositors play a critical role in vertical transmission of W. anomalus and that the larvae contribute actively to the garden establishment, providing a novel case of fungal garden founding in non-social insect-fungus mutualism.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Coleoptera / physiology*
  • Female
  • Larva / physiology
  • Oviposition
  • Ovum / microbiology
  • Saccharomycetales / cytology*
  • Sasa / microbiology*
  • Symbiosis

Grants and funding

WT was supported by the Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from The Japan Science Society and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI Grant (no. 25840153). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.