Abstract
Abstract Conifers are a challenging host for herbivores since their tissues are very low in essential nutrients but high in chemical defenses. For herbivorous insects, such as phloem-colonizing bark beetles, mutualistic fungi may improve their diet by providing a nutritious mycelium. A recent study revealed that two filamentous fungi are mutualists of the European fir engraver beetle Pityokteines vorontzowi, but a potential nutritional contribution of the fungi, as well as their capability to degrade plant antiherbivore defenses remains unknown. We analyzed the nutrient content of the fungal mutualists Ophiostoma piceae and Geosmithia sp. F1 and examined their ability to degrade the constitutive chemical defenses of silver fir phloem in comparison to other fungi. Both mutualists turned out to be rich in amino acids, sugars, and B vitamins and were found to efficiently deplete their phloem media of several defenses. Strikingly, O. piceae not only accumulated the highest amounts of the B vitamin nicotinic acid of the 17 tested fungi but also showed a high ability to deplete its medium of chemical defenses, similar to the behavior of the Ips typographus mutualist Endoconidiophora polonica. Beetle-vectored, non-mutualistic fungi isolated from P. vorontzowi showed similar capacities to deplete defensive compounds, whereas non-fir-associated fungi were less effective in reducing their concentrations in the phloem medium. The nutritious mycelium of O. piceae and Geosmithia sp. F1 and the ability of these fungi to deplete the medium of major fir defense compounds likely facilitates the colonization of silver fir phloem by P. vorontzowi.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Ophiostoma piceae mycelium was rich in amino acids, sugars and B vitamins.
- Taxon
- silver fir
Abies albae2 - Interactor
- Ophiostoma piceaeOphiostoma piceaee3othere0
- Outcome
- rich in amino acids, sugars, and B vitaminse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Both mutualists turned out to be rich in amino acids, sugars, and B vitamins”
t0“fir”
e2“constitutive chemical defenses of silver fir phloem in comparison to other fungi.”
e3“fungal mutualists Ophiostoma piceae and Geosmithia sp. F1”
Claim · model-written summary
Geosmithia sp. F1 mycelium was rich in amino acids, sugars and B vitamins.
- Taxon
- silver firAbies albae2
- Outcome
- rich in amino acids, sugars, and B vitaminse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Both mutualists turned out to be rich in amino acids, sugars, and B vitamins”
t0“fir”
e2“constitutive chemical defenses of silver fir phloem in comparison to other fungi.”
e3“fungal mutualists Ophiostoma piceae and Geosmithia sp. F1”
Claim · model-written summary
Ophiostoma piceae depleted several defenses from fir phloem medium.
- Taxon
- silver firAbies albae2
- Interactor
- Ophiostoma piceaeOphiostoma piceaee3othere0
- Outcome
- phloem media of several defensese0
- Direction
- depletee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“were found to efficiently deplete their phloem media of several defenses.”
t0“fir”
e2“constitutive chemical defenses of silver fir phloem in comparison to other fungi.”
e3“fungal mutualists Ophiostoma piceae and Geosmithia sp. F1”
Claim · model-written summary
Geosmithia sp. F1 depleted several defenses from fir phloem medium.
- Taxon
- silver firAbies albae2
- Outcome
- phloem media of several defensese0
- Direction
- depletee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“were found to efficiently deplete their phloem media of several defenses.”
t0“fir”
e2“constitutive chemical defenses of silver fir phloem in comparison to other fungi.”
e3“fungal mutualists Ophiostoma piceae and Geosmithia sp. F1”
Claim · model-written summary
O. piceae had the highest nicotinic acid among 17 fungi tested.
- Taxon
- silver firAbies albae2
- Interactor
- O. piceaeOphiostoma piceaee3othere0
- Outcome
- the B vitamin nicotinic acide0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Qualifier
- 17 tested fungie0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“O. piceae not only accumulated the highest amounts of the B vitamin nicotinic acid of the 17 tested fungi”
t0“fir”
e2“constitutive chemical defenses of silver fir phloem in comparison to other fungi.”
e3“O. piceae not only accumulated the highest amounts of the B vitamin nicotinic acid of the 17 tested fungi”
Claim · model-written summary
O. piceae strongly depleted chemical defenses, similarly to Endoconidiophora polonica.
- Taxon
- silver firAbies albae2
- Interactor
- O. piceaeOphiostoma piceaee3othere0
- Second interactor
- Endoconidiophora polonicaEndoconidiophora polonicae0other
- Outcome
- medium of chemical defensese0
- Direction
- depletee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“showed a high ability to deplete its medium of chemical defenses, similar to the behavior of the Ips typographus mutualist Endoconidiophora polonica.”
t0“fir”
e2“constitutive chemical defenses of silver fir phloem in comparison to other fungi.”
e3“O. piceae not only accumulated the highest amounts of the B vitamin nicotinic acid of the 17 tested fungi”
Claim · model-written summary
Beetle-vectored non-mutualistic fungi had similar capacities to deplete fir defense compounds.
- Taxon
- silver firAbies albae2
- Interactor
- non-mutualistic fungie0other
- Outcome
- defensive compoundse0
- Direction
- depletee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Beetle-vectored, non-mutualistic fungi isolated from P. vorontzowi showed similar capacities to deplete defensive compounds”
t0“fir”
e2“constitutive chemical defenses of silver fir phloem in comparison to other fungi.”
Claim · model-written summary
Non-fir-associated fungi were less effective at reducing phloem-medium defense concentrations.
- Taxon
- silver firAbies albae2
- Interactor
- non-fir-associated fungie0other
- Outcome
- concentrations in the phloem mediume0
- Direction
- less effectivee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“non-fir-associated fungi were less effective in reducing their concentrations in the phloem medium.”
t0“fir”
e2“constitutive chemical defenses of silver fir phloem in comparison to other fungi.”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors inferred that nutritious fungal mycelium and defense depletion facilitate beetle colonization of silver fir phloem.
- Taxon
- silver firAbies albae1
- Interactor
- P. vorontzowiPityokteines vorontzowie0herbivore
- Second interactor
- O. piceaeOphiostoma piceaee2othere0
- Outcome
- colonization of silver fir phloeme0
- Qualifier
- likely facilitatese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The nutritious mycelium of O. piceae and Geosmithia sp. F1 and the ability of these fungi to deplete the medium of major fir defense compounds likely facilitates the colonization of silver fir phloem by P. vorontzowi.”
e1“constitutive chemical defenses of silver fir phloem in comparison to other fungi.”
e2“O. piceae not only accumulated the highest amounts of the B vitamin nicotinic acid of the 17 tested fungi”